Repair
by AlexaNDYE
Summary: Tony and Pepper are one month into their relationship, but it seems like Tony, himself, still has a few lessons to learn. Dates, doubts, worry, fears, and villains. Pepperony. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Tony walked off the platform with his right leg dragging behind. He hissed in pain, and carefully looked back, trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with his leg. Before he looked at his leg, he looked behind him, and saw the trail of blood he was leaving behind. Tony widened his eyes and immediately glanced down at his leg. His neoprene suit was torn vertically down his calf. He winced in pain again and felt a rush of pain move along his chest.

"Ahh!" He screamed in pain. He tried to stifle it, but he was already too late.

With all of his strength, Tony started to slowly move towards the couch. It felt like bricks were attached to his right leg. If anything, he had to call Pepper as soon as possible.

"JARVIS." Tony practically shouted.

"Yes, sir?" The AI responded.

"I want a full body scan, and let me know of the results ASAP." Tony tries to slowly peel away the suit from where it was slightly torn but the imaginable feeling of knives piercing his chest started to take him aback. "Damn it." He breathed.

Tony looked over at the phone that was sitting on the night stand beside him. He stared at it and hesitated. _If I call Pepper, she'll have to drive here… and then she'll start reprimanding me about my actions… and…_

Another wave of pain rushed over him, making him hiss in pain, again. In mere moments, his hand whipped towards the phone, grabbing it in a blink of an eye. He pressed Pepper's speed dial and quickly held the phone to his ear.

Pepper was sitting on her couch, reading a red hard covered book with black embroidery. After a few seconds, her delicate fingers turned the page. The ringing of the phone soon engulfed her apartment, making her heavily sigh.

"And it was just getting to the good part." She angrily breathed. Pepper stood up and walked towards the small kitchen. She grabbed the phone off the counter and immediately held it to her ear.

"Virginia Potts." She greeted.

"Hey, Peps." Tony painfully breathed.

"Tony," She glanced over at the oven, noting the time. "It's midnight, whatever you need, can it wait until—"

"I need your help." His attempt at interrupting her failed.

"—Tomorrow." She finished, slowly closing her eyes. "Help with what?" Pepper gave in.

"C-Can you just please… drive over here..." He tried to peel the suit off his back but a separate wave of pain started to slowly make its way towards his shoulder. "Ow, crap!"

"Tony?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows, becoming increasingly worried. "Is everything okay?"

"Um…" Tony blinked, forcibly. "Yeah… Listen, I know it's late but I could really use your help and—"

"Just tell me what you want, Tony."

"You." He blatantly gasped. "I want _you_ right now, Pepper."

"As romantic as that sounds, It's a little too late and we have a nine o'clock meeting, plus an eleven o'clock meeting right after. Can't we do this tomorrow night?" She started to lean over the counter, resting her elbows on the dark granite surface.

"The faster you get here, the faster you can go to sleep—stay at my place for the night." Tony suddenly felt his calf throb.

"Tony—"

"Please, Pepper." His voice started becoming more dark and serious.

Pepper stood up, widened her eyes in seriousness. "Tony, tell me. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just really want—"

"I swear to god, if you don't tell me, I'm taking my two week vocation and I'll make damn sure JARVIS can't pinpoint my location." She threatened him.

There was no way in hell he could think of anything to counter that one. The only thing that feared him was not being able to see her, let along for two whole weeks. He would literally die without her daily presence. "I… got into a little accident." He breathed, half admiring how vicious Pepper could be.

"Accident, what kind of accident?" She narrowed her eyes, carefully listening.

"Fury sent me on a mission right after you left… and I just got back." He told her. That's all he had to say to her. Just the slightest mention of a mission and Pepper was on full alert.

"Are you okay?" Worry was taking over her emotions.

"I'm fine." Tony tried to smile but the pain prevented it.

"Full body scan complete." JARVIS suddenly announced. "You have a large laceration running vertically down your entire calf, there's a shallow laceration starting at your left shoulder and ending at your right lower back, there are multiple bruises forming around your abdomen, and there are two flesh wounds along your right forearm suggesting you barely escaped two bullets. My estimation is two and a half weeks worth of recovery."

Pepper widened her eyes in fear and worry. _Forget the damn book._ She hung up milliseconds later, grabbed her keys, her heather gray sweatshirt, and darted out the door. She hardly thought about the clothes she was wearing. Her short blue and white plaid shorts, and her white spaghetti strapped tank top was all she had on. Tony looked up at the ceiling, hoping to god that Pepper didn't hear anything JARVIS had just announced.

"Pepper, take your time. It's not as bad as it—" Tony heard beeping coming from the other end. He was then greeted by a recorded voice, telling him that he might have the wrong number. "—sounds." He ended the call. "Thanks a lot, JARVIS."

"You're welcome, sir." JARVIS blurted, making Tony look up at the ceiling with annoyance.

While Pepper was speeding towards his house, Tony gave it another try, and carefully started to peel the suit off of him. The mixture of blood and sweat made the suit stick to every hair and surface on his body. He managed to completely rip off the section that was covering his right leg.

"One down…" He heavily breathed, half bending over.

"Sir, Miss Potts has entered the house at an accelerated rate."

"Mm." Tony hummed, focusing on the rest of the suit that stuck to every inch of his body. In mere seconds, he heard the glass door that separated the rest of the house from his workshop swing open. Without moving an inch, he felt Pepper's worried vibes overflow the entire place. He slowly looked at her and saw her widened eyes, and half open mouth.

"Hi." Tony almost cheerfully greeted.

"Hi?" Pepper breathed, slowly balling her fists. "HI!" She yelled. Tony started becoming deathly afraid of her.

"Now, Pepper—" He tried to calm her down but it didn't work.

"You call me, telling me that you're 'okay' "She air quoted. ", and then I overhear JARVIS explaining your full body scan, and all you can say to me is hi?" She stared at him, right in the eyes.

"Should I start over with an 'I'm sorry' or 'I love you'?" He joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Pepper darted her index finger towards the couch. Without saying a word, Tony slowly limped towards it with her carefully trailing behind him. He slowly sat himself down on the couch and managed to stifle a hiss. He felt Pepper sit beside him. It felt like their daily patch up ritual. Tony slightly turned to the left, giving Pepper a clear view of his back, and the back of his right leg.

"I tried to tear the neoprene suit off but—"

"Tony." She breathed, carefully touching the torn jagged edges of the neoprene suit. She ran her fingers along the cut that lasted for what seemed a mile. Right when she got to the middle of the wound, she felt Tony tense up. "How—What—What happened?"

"Saw blades." He breathed, trying to look behind him, but Pepper jerked him forwards.

"Saw—Saw blades?" Pepper made a hissing sound herself as she inspected the laceration on his calf.

"There was a factory… and it exploded…" He took in a deep breath. "They went flying everywhere, and the suit was already previously damaged from the mission before that." Tony explained to her.

"Fury sent you on a double mission?" Pepper whispered, still following the trail of his wounds.

"Well… Kind of." Tony pressed his lips together.

"What do you mean by 'kind of'?" Pepper's voice began to rise.

"I swear, I was flying back home and right before I could land, Fury asked me to take over Captain American's mission." He felt Pepper carefully remove some of the neoprene suit on his back to get a better reach of the long laceration. "You were angry at me… so I…I didn't want to go home... And that's when I told you, through JARVIS, that I was still on the same mission."

"Angry at you?" Anger slowly raising. "Angry at you!"

"Pepper… I really don't want to have to do _this_ now—"

"No, Tony." She angrily told him, making him turn around to face her. Pepper pointed at him with her index finger. "You were the one that wouldn't sign the damn papers." She then pointed at herself. "I wasn't being the stubborn dumbass, fleeing like a scared deer."

Tony looked away, almost feeling too ashamed to look at her. It was true, he did beg Fury for a mission just to get away from the house and her. He turned his head, and looked at her, straight in the eyes. "I didn't want to deal with it."

"Every couple has a fight. One fight doesn't mean it's going to be the end of the world."

"No, you don't understand, Pepper." He calmly told her, taking her hands in his. "I didn't want to deal with… _this._"

"This?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean by, _this_?"

"This…us…what we're doing." He squeezed her hands, trying to get his point across. "I just—"

"Are you having second thoughts?" She asked him. Tony could see the fear in her eyes.

"Yes—no, yes… no… yes—Pepper I—" He tried to explain it to her but he was cut off.

"Tony, it was just one fight. It doesn't mean I don't care about our relationship, or-or that I'm suddenly going to want to resign—"

"No, Pepper." He squeezed her hands again, making her pay attention to him. "This is new for me." Tony looked down at their linked hands and then up at her, catching her gaze. "We've been together for a month now, and I'm _just_ starting to get used to everything."

"What… What are you trying to say?" She looked at him cautiously.

"What I'm trying to say is that… I don't want to treat you like a one night stand because you're not, Pepper. You're better than that." He breathed. "You mean everything to me and despite what the press keeps assuming, I'm not going to go back to my old self."

"So you didn't want to sign the papers, and instead got into a fight with me because you were thinking about our relationship?" She asked him, noticing the waves of pain that flashed through his eyes.

"…Basically, yeah." He slightly nodded.

Pepper's lips suddenly formed a smile. "You're such an idiot." She reached up and gently touched his cheek. Tony leaned into it and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Before he knew it, he felt her hand abruptly slap his cheek, making it burn bright red.

"Pepper—" he tried to make her understand but Pepper's angry raging ocean blue eyes were already sending spears of fear through his throat.

"Turn around." She angrily told him.

"But—"

Pepper was clearly not in the mood to talk. Despite how much pain she would cause him, she grabbed both of his shoulders and whipped him around. He hissed, feeling her arms firmly hold her in place. She then reached under the couch and pulled out an emergency aid kit. She set it on her lap and opened the box. She took out a bottle and a cotton swab. Tony felt her small delicate hands reach for the torn edges in the suit. Without thinking about how much pain it would cause him, she ripped the neoprene suit off his chest like a child ripping off a band-aid. Knowing what would happen next, Tony prepared himself and gripped the edges of the couch cushions. He felt the cotton swab lightly dab the laceration that ran across his back.

"Ow-ow-ow!" He hissed.

"Stop being a baby." Pepper dabbed every inch of his wound, trying really hard to ignore his cries of pain.

"You're not the one who got sliced by dozens of saw blades." He mumbled, closing his eyes.

"If you had just signed the damn papers, none of _this_," She dabbed his back again, making him flinch. "…would have ever happened."

"Touché, Miss Potts." He breathed.

"Let me see your shoulder." She ordered him. Tony turned towards her and shifted his shoulder to give her a better look. She looked at the two marks the bullets left and heavily breathed. "Does it hurt?"

"Kind of." He responded back rather quickly. Dummy came up to her and handed her a damp clean white towel with his robotic claw. Pepper used it to wash away the semi-dried blood that traveled down his arm. She looked up at him and saw his curious gaze. After a while, his eyes locked with hers, and Tony did what he did in most awkward and scary situations. He smiled, hoping she'd do the same.

Pepper looked away and simply shook her head at him. "Do you always have to get hurt when you're on a mission?"

"It's not that simple, Peps." He breathed. "You don't have to keep patching me up, you know. I could get Dummy to do it."

She breathed a laugh. "_That_ would be a disaster."

"Yeah," he laughed with her. "I guess you're right." But the laugh quickly faded when he felt Pepper dab his shoulder with another cotton swab. He felt the stinging sensation after every single dab, but he had gotten so used to it. He didn't bother to make a sound.

Silence overtook the whole entire workshop. There was nothing left to say. Pepper was expecting him to say something about their relationship, since it got him hurt in the first place, but alas, not a peep was heard. Pepper took out some gauze and started wrapping his shoulder with it. She went around his wound twice before taking the opportunity to gaze up at him. Sure enough, their eyes immediately locked on to each other's.

Tony's lips started to curl upwards but Pepper immediately avoided it. She wrapped the gauze around his arm five more times before securing it with some tape. She picked up another roll of gauze. Her eyes were completely locked to his while her arms stretched behind and around his back. He looked down at her and swallowed hard, trying to restrict himself from kissing her. Pepper's eyes abruptly traveled down his chest. She began staring at the blood soaked neoprene suit that pooled at his waist.

Her eyes were a different color blue. It wasn't an ocean blue anymore. It was a darker blue. All of the signs were pointing at the same thing. For more than ten years she had worked for him, and as those years flew by, her emotions were mapped out in his brain like a mental check list. She was definitely pissed at him.

Pepper wrapped the gauze at an upward direction starting from his waist, and towards his shoulder, containing the shallow, and long laceration perfectly. She did this twice before wrapping it around his waist. After she secured it, she mindlessly trailed the gauze with her hands, noticing how some of it covered the arc reactor's calm blue glow.

"Tony." She softly croaked. His soft brown eyes looked down at her head, carefully searching for her face. He tried to contain her feelings, and his, by placing both of his hands on her waist.

"Pepper—" He mimicked her soft and gentle tone.

"You need to stop acting alone." She finally looked up at him. Tony's eyes grew wide in confusion.

"What do you mean acting alo—"

"You want to think about our relationship? Okay, fine. I'm fine with that, but don't think that you can't talk to _me_ about it." She sternly told him. Her eyes filled with betrayal and hatred.

"I—I can't talk to you about it, Pepper." He tried to make her realize. "I'm not exactly the type that likes to share my feelings willy-nilly."

"Then don't let your emotions control Iron Man." She retracted her hands and let them fall into her lap.

"They aren't—"

"Iron Man has nothing to do with this, Tony." She lectured. "I don't care if you're having second thoughts about our relationship—"

"But I'm not, Pepper, I'm just—" He got cut off again.

"I certainly don't care if you want to think about things. Take a walk, go to the mall, build something stupid – do whatever you need to do to think things through but _do not_ involve Iron Man." She breathed. Her hand grabbed the side of her head as if she were having a terrible headache. Tony watched as her hand dropped to her side. "You're human, Tony. Not some machine. Iron Man saves the world, and Tony Stark doesn't."

"What—" He furrowed his eyebrows at her in confusion. "That didn't make any sense—"

"The suit makes you a hero. The only thing separating you from Iron Man is your emotions." She reached up and placed her entire palm on his chest, covering his heart. "Everything in here, Tony." Pepper tried to make him understand, but the way his eyes were fixated on hers and the way his mouth gapped – she already knew that he was still befuddled.

Pepper looked away; disappointment engulfed her. She moved out of his grasp and stood up. Tony was speechless. All he did was watch her movements.

"I'm tired." She started to walk towards the glass door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you staying here?" His voice sounded painful and full of confusion.

Pepper opened the glass door and turned around. Her blue eyes looked so deep. It looked like an abyss. "I'm going home, Tony."

Those few words felt like knives that wanted to pierce his heart at every single angle possible. "Oh."

"Please," She slowly blinked. "Think about what I said."

Those were the last words he heard her say that night. Despite her lecture and disappearance of her healing touch, he still patched himself up. With a bit of help from Dummy, he managed to put ointment on his calf and wrap gauze around it. He painfully ripped the rest of the neoprene suit off his body, and climbed into a grey cotton t-shirt and matching grey sweats. Her words were running through his head all night. It was until the last second of his wakefulness he solved her riddle.

Disappointment engulfed him as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi, sorry I wasn't user friendly in the first chapter. :) I'm not a robot, I swear! Anyways, sorry for all the grammar and spelling mistakes. I'm not much a proof reader. I have to go play Call of Duty Black Ops because it's mandatory daily clan practice. I'm such a tom boy :[. Anyways, Happy Holidays! Be safe and have fun! :D **

Pepper picked up her purse and her blackberry before swinging her legs out of her car. She stood up, locked her car with a press of a button and continued to walk towards the front door of the Tony's house. She felt absolutely awful. She already had the knowledge of Tony's lack of relationship knowledge. _I really shouldn't have lectured him like that._

She took out her keys and opened the front door with ease. As she shut the door behind herself, she heard JARVIS greet her.

"Good morning, Miss Potts. I admire your choice of business attire, today." The AI said.

"Thank you, JARVIS, and a good morning to you too." Pepper's lips started to curl upwards. "Is Mr. Stark still sleeping?"

"Mr. Stark woke up early today and insisted on working on the suit." He informed her.

"So, he's in the workshop?" She asked the house's program, adjusting her purse.

"Indeed."

"Thanks." She breathed. _I should apologize… or at least tell him I was wrong. Well I wasn't exactly wrong. I should've used the driving analogy._ Pepper threw her purse onto the couch before walking down the stairs. She peered through the glass windows, and saw him hunched over in a light blue cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans, clearly working on a device of some sort. She inhaled briefly before punching in her access code. She heard the door unlock and proceeded to walk inside.

Tony turned his head slightly and saw her walking towards him through the corner of his eye.

"Tony." She called.

"Hm?" he hummed, not moving an inch. He twisted the screwdriver left and right, trying to find the right adjustment.

Her voice sounded a little calm. "I need to talk to you." Pepper breathed, mindlessly letting her hands play with themselves, as if she was nervous.

"I…I actually need to talk to you, too." He admitted. Tony put the device he was working on down, letting the screwdriver fall onto the desk. He turned around in his chair and stood up. He started gesturing towards the couch.

Pepper slightly shook her head. "I actually have quite a lot of work to do. I was going to go back to the office… after." Her fingers twisted with each other.

"Oh." He muttered.

Complete silence. Both of them looked at each other with painful glances.

"I—I came down here to apologize." _Why are my palms so sweaty? Am I really that nervous? It's just Tony!_ Pepper breathed.

"Apologize for what?" his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "You were right, Pepper."

"Right about—?"

"About everything." He confessed, leaning against his desk with his hands gripped around the edges. "I kind of feel weird for admitting it, but you were right about how I acted."

"Tony…" Pepper sighed. She didn't really want to be right.

"I should've just gone home after the first mission." His eyes briefly admired the floor of the workshop. Pepper felt her heart ache when his eyes finally locked onto hers. "If I had just talked to you about it, I wouldn't have been blaming you for my injuries – not that I initially was."

She started to move her feet towards him. Without saying a word, she found herself next to him, leaning against the desk, hands gripping the edges of the table.

"I'm new at this, Pepper."

"I know." She muttered, briefly looking up at him.

"I—I really don't have a record… for uh… having a standing relationship… with someone – other than my parents." He pressed his lips together. "And Rhodey."

"Well…" She placed her hand gently on top of his and brushed his fingers with her thumb. "…We can always take things slow."

Tony breathed a laugh and looked down at her with a smile. "Hopefully not _too_ slow." Pepper smiled back up at him. "So, what did you want to apologize for?"

"I felt horrible when I woke up. I shouldn't have lectured you like that. I shouldn't have made you felt like it was your entire fault." She admitted. "I should've been more open to your feelings and—"

"You shouldn't apologize for that." He cut her off. "I shouldn't have brought Iron Man into this in the first place. I didn't even think about talking to anyone about it."

"I'm still apologizing." She assured him, practically ignoring what he had just said.

"Well…" he thought about it, smiling down at her. "…then I accept your apology."

Pepper moved her hands and carefully wrapped them around his arm before resting her head on his shoulder.

"Ahh." Tony hissed. "Shoulder – Peps – shoulder."

She retracted her head, feeling completely stupid. "Oh god – Tony – I'm sorry. I forgot—"

"It's okay." He stopped her from apologizing again.

"Is the pain getting worse?" She asked in a worried tone.

"The pain is equal from last night."

"Did you take care of your leg after I left?" She curiously glanced down at his leg.

"Yeah." He slightly nodded. "I kind of missed your gentle touch though."

Pepper breathed a laugh and carefully leaned against his arm. They stood there, absorbing each other's memorable and comfortable company. He had to admit, he missed her presence, especially after their fight yesterday. He hated being separated from her because Pepper was basically his better half. Without her, he felt empty inside. Tony slowly slid his arm out of her grasp and wrapped it around her waist. He carefully pulled her to his side and immediately felt her arms wrap around his waist. She let her head gently lean against his side, feeling his fingers rub calm circles in her hip.

They stood there, at that exact position, for a few minutes before one of them broke the romantic moment.

"I still think you should talk to someone about these 'thoughts' you've been having about our relationship." She glanced up at him.

Tony's mouth went crooked. "Did you happen to minor in psychology when you were in—"

"I'm being serious, Tony." Pepper spat back at him.

"But…" He pouted. "…who would want to listen to be babble about my thoughts and feelings? It's like making Fury cuddle with a care bear. It's awkward and uncanny."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You have me." She started suggesting. "You have Fury, Natasha, Rhodey, and Happy."

Tony looked in the distance and made a sour face.

"You have JARVIS." She said dryly, obviously hinting of JARVIS' lack of care and dedication for feelings.

"I _could_ integrate some kind of therapist program in JARVIS…" He thought for a moment.

"At least talk to someone about it." She intimately squeezed him, arms still around his waist. "Even a lamp post would work."

Tony stifled a laugh and thought about tomorrow's front page headlines. "Billionaire Tony Stark Finally Goes Insane."

She started giggling, making her snuggle into his side even more, whilst being careful of his injuries. She slid her hand up to his chest, outlined the arc reactor and patted his chest lightly.

"I…" Pepper started out. "…have to go get some work done." She tried to slip from his grasp but immediately felt pulled back by his hands that were grasping her waist. She turned around and positioned herself between his legs, molding into his chest. Tony couldn't help but smile frivolously down at her.

"You don't have to go right now, do you?" He practically pouted like a puppy.

"I have to work, Tony. It's what you pay me for." She gave him a serious glare, equipped with a light smile.

"You don't have to work." He breathed. "I can pay you for making out with me."

"I wouldn't be your P.A then." Pepper began flashing a playful grin. "I'd be your prostitute."

Their faces were so close to each other's. Pepper could feel his breath tickle her neck and Tony could feel her scent engulf his body. God, she smelled so amazing.

"No." He breathed, captivated by her beauty. "You'd be my PA with benefits."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers, searching for her approval. Pepper leaned a bit forward and felt his lips slightly capture her bottom lip. They met half way and started reliving the kiss on the rooftop. He felt the glossy feeling of her soft lips capture his own.

Pepper's arms slid up from his chest and wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her; deepening the kiss. A moan came from the back of Tony's throat and Pepper couldn't help but grin. After a few more seconds of swapping saliva, she pulled away.

"Wait-wait-wait." Tony pleaded, opening his eyes. "What about the make-up sex?" He began to pout.

"I need to go to work." She told him, rolling her eyes at his last comment, and taking his hands off her waist; holding them in the empty space between their bodies.

"Right _now_?" He sniffed, hoping she'd give into his irresistible charm. Tony squeezed her hands with affection.

"Yes, right now. Paperwork don't do themselves, you know." Pepper's grin widened.

"I could've sworn I heard them moaning in the filing cabinet a couple days ago." He joked, faking a puzzled face.

"Ha ha." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes again.

"When are you going to be done?" Tony swung their hands back and forth.

"I'll probably swing by around three to check up on you." She squeezed his hands, briefly, before letting go. "We have a meeting in thirty minutes. I assume you don't want to go."

"I don't necessarily _want_ to go… but if _you_ want me to go, I'll go." He warmly smiled.

"I…" she thought about it. "…I think you should stay home."

"Oh—What?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"You should stay home and recover from last night's mission. Or at least try to get some rest until I get back."

"I'm definitely not complaining." He widened his grin. "If you get bored during the meetings, feel free to text me."

"I'm not you, Tony. I pay attention during the meetings… for your sake." She shot back at him equipped with a smile of her own.

"Then pay attention while texting. Think of it as multitasking in a car."

"You're not supposed to 'multitask' when you're driving." She muffled a playful laugh. She walked towards the glass door with a grin spread across her face. Only he could pull off that cute, clueless and irresistible charm.

"You complete me." He mumbled loud enough for her to hear him.

Pepper backed against the glass door and blushed. He watched as her cute smile grew, surrounded by the ever growing red color that suddenly blossomed on her face. "I'll see you later." And with that, the glass door closed, leaving Tony in his workshop.

"JARVIS." He breathed.

"Yes, sir?"

"Call speed dial 2, please."

"Calling Colonel James Rhodes." JARVIS responded after a few seconds.

Tony turned around to face his desk while still keeping that silly grin on his face; one that only the woman that meant the world to him could conjure up.

Rhodey walked into a Starbucks coffee shop with a leather jacket, a grey cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans on. He stood at the entrance for a few seconds before seeing a hand waving in the distance. He lifted his palm upward and made his way towards the table. He slid into the booth, facing his best friend.

"Hey." Rhodey pressed his lips together, adjusting himself into a comfortable position.

"Took you long enough." Tony slightly smiled.

"You only called me twenty minutes ago and traffic was horrendous." Rhodey rolled his eyes and noticed Tony's odd position. "I take it the mission didn't go so well."

"Huh?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows; he looked at his shoulder and then down at his chest. He wasn't bleeding or anything… "How can you tell?"

"I can tell when it looks like you look like you've just gotten steamrolled by tank." Rhodey saw a puzzled look wash over his face. "You tilt to the right."

"Oh…" Tony breathed.

"So…" Rhodey linked his hands together in a very business like fashion. "Why'd you call me here? Do we have some kind of mission to go on?"

"I—"

"Does Fury want me to bust up some bad guys or-or take care of some super villain?" He started getting excited. "Just say the word and I'm—"

"I'm having woman troubles." Tony blurted out.

"Gone." Rhodey motioned to get up. "I'll see you later, Tony."

"Oh c'mon, Rhodey." Tony reached for his hand in attempt to yank him back down but his shoulder gave out. "You're already here. You might as well stick around."

He was already half way out of the booth. He rolled his eyes and heavily sighed before sitting back down. Rhodey looked at Tony with an annoyed expression.

"Okay, point taken. Now, why in the hell do you have girl problems?" His eyes suddenly started rolling again. "Oh, dear lord, please don't tell me you screwed up with Pepper."

"I didn't." Tony attempted to reassure him. "Well… I did, but everything's okay now. Although…" He made a disappointed face. "…there was not make-up sex."

Rhodey looked up at him and shook his head. "If you called me down here to get in _her_ pants—"

"I swear I didn't." Tony suddenly smirked. "It's not like I need your help to romance Pepper."

"And suddenly, I feel sick." Rhodey mumbled. He looked up at him. "What exactly can I do to help you with your… 'woman troubles'?" he air quoted.

"Listen to me babble and give me some pointers." Tony shrugged. "That's all."

"Babble about what?"

Tony raised his arms to rest on the table and leaned forward. "I kind of screwed up… last night."

"Screwed up?"

He began scratching the back of his head. "I got angry at Pepper. She tried to get me to sign some papers and… at the time I was thinking about our relationship so—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there." Rhodey interrupted.

"What?" Tony asked in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You—you're not supposed _think_ about your relationship and let those thoughts _get in the way_ of it."

"Why?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Because—" Rhodey couldn't help but smile. "Because it's a tell."

"A tell?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"Just—just tell me the rest of the story."

"So… um…" Tony's mouth went crooked. "…We got into a fight and then we went our separate ways. I desperately asked Fury for a mission and Pepper went home. I came back from my first mission but then I asked Fury for another. And Pepper didn't actually go home. She was waiting for me… but I was too chicken to face her… so I went on the second mission."

Rhodey shook his head at him in disappointment.

"Next thing I knew, I was being sliced by saw blades that zipped every which way because of an exploding saw factory—who the hell has a saw factory these days? It's a pretty pointless place to keep my weapons." Tony saw Rhodey's impatient facial expression and immediately carried on. "Um… I got home and I called Pepper to help me patch me up. I told her I went on two missions and I explained to her why I didn't come home after the first one."

"She got pissed?" Rhodey guessed.

"Yep." Tony popped the 'p'. "Royally pissed. She lectured me and told me to think about what she said."

"What did she tell you to think about?"

"A lot of stuff. She basically wants me to talk to someone about my feelings about our relationship. And that someone is you." Tony added a playful smile. "So Platypus, prepare to be Iron Man's therapist."

"Great." Rhodey sighed. "Okay, first thing's first."

"Hm?" He hummed.

"What's wrong with your relationship with Pepper?"

"Nothing's wrong." Tony quickly answered.

"First stage, denial." Rhodey half smiled and sarcastically added, "Congratulations, we're making progress."

"No, I'm serious. Nothing is wrong." Tony pressed his lips together.

"So, you got owned by an exploding saw factory and pissed off your girlfriend for nothing."

"I—I just don't know—" Tony bit his lip and heavily sighed. "You know how many girls I've seen after the first date, right?"

"Yeah." Rhodey nodded. "Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. None—"

"I'm a newbie at this." Tony admitted, cutting Rhodey off. "I don't know how to treat Pepper like a girlfriend."

"Welcome to the world of dating. Would you like your book, 'Dating for Dummies?' now, or later?" Rhodey smiled. He enjoyed toying with him, but he had to give him props for telling _someone_ about his problems.

"Rhodey…" Tony whined. "Will you quit it? This is a first for me and I'd appreciate it if you saved the jokes for later."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." His laughter slowly stopped. "Okay." He leaned forward and pressed his lips together. "I need to see what I'm dealing with."

"Are you blind? I'm right here." Tony joked.

"Question one." Rhodey started.

"Wait—what?" He widened his eyes.

"What place to do take a girl on a first date?"

"Um…" Tony looked up at the ceiling in thought. Within a few seconds, he looked back at Rhodey. "Easy. First date would be at a romantically mood lit five star restaurant."

"Oh my lord." He muttered.

"What?" Tony asked back; obviously befuddled.

"You don't take her to a five star restaurant with the hopes of getting her in your pants on a first date." He suddenly felt a headache blossom in his head.

"You obviously don't know me then." Tony widened his grin.

"And that's another thing. You don't aim to get in her pants on the first date." Before Tony could even counter that statement, Rhodey intervened. "And you don't talk about your previous dates. _Never_ talk about your exes unless she asks. And if she asks, don't make it seem like you miss her because that would mean you're single again."

"But Pepper already knows about my exes… or bed exes…"

Rhodey ignored him. "The first date consists of coffee and getting to know each other."

"Pepper has gotten me coffee for ten years plus. We've already bonded on numerous occasions."

"Then what's the problem?" Rhodey felt like strangling him. He wasn't particularly mad. It was just the process of making Tony admit that he has trouble with women that was making him pissed.

"I don't know what Pepper wants or doesn't want." He looked up at Rhodey and then, slowly, back down at the table. His elbow rested on the table, and he leaned his head into his palm. "We kiss, we make-out, we flirt, we get intimate but we don't have sex—"

"TMI." Rhodey muttered, tying to get the mental images out of his head.

"I'm just afraid…" He started drawing invisible circles on the table. "…I'm afraid I'm going to lose interest in her – or that I'll hurt her in some way." Tony started to mumble. "I don't want her to hate me."

"Have you had this talk with her?"

"Like I said earlier, you're the person I chose to talk to. I'm not necessarily the type that likes to spit my feelings on a note card and announce it to the world." Tony heavily sighed.

"Well…" Rhodey thought long and hard about his next few words. "Do you love her?"

"Of course I do." Tony responded in a matter of milliseconds.

"Have you told her that?"

"In those exact words... not necessarily…"

Just as Rhodey was about to say something, his pager went off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. He heavily sighed and tucked it back into his pants pocket.

"Another client, mister therapist, James Rhodes?" Tony joked with a half smile.

"Commander wants me back at the base to run some tests on the new weapons we're putting on War Machine." Rhodey breathed. "I swear, they're too addicted to this suit."

"I can easily take it apart – if you want me to."

"I appreciate the offer." Rhodey slid out of the booth and got up. He stopped next to Tony and placed an arm on his shoulder. "When the time comes, you'll tell her. And when you get the courage, you'll talk to her about it."

"Easier said than done." Tony widened his smile, looking up at his best friend.

"Just don't do anything stupid." Rhodey mumbled in his direction with a small smile. "I'll see you later, Tony."

"Bye." Tony said, watching him walk towards the door. He looked down at his watched and noticed the time. It was almost eleven o'clock, which meant that Pepper had just gotten out of her nine o'clock meeting. "It's only stupid if it creates chaos." With a grin across his face and a destination in mind, he was out of the coffee shop in a matter of seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: My tell is usually my craving for chocolate or my excessive sleeping. Mm, you'll know what I'm talking about when you get into the chapter :) Happy New Year! P.S, NEVER GO TO THE MALL THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. It's worse than Christmas shoppers. Took me two hours to exchange my iPad at Apple (parking is the worst).**

Tony raced his smooth and fast Audi to the meeting, which was being held at Stark Industries. He raced down the highway and barely avoided traffic. His loud engine bounced off the walls in the parking garage.

"Um, Mr. Stark?" A young Asian man greeted him. He wore a parking valet outfit; a white button up dress shirt, a hot rod red vest and a gold tie.

_I like the choice of colors._ Tony smiled up at the boy.

"If you want, I can park your car in your executive spot." He told the billionaire.

"Um, sure, okay." Tony got out of his Audi and tossed the kid the car keys. "Try not to dent it."

"Sure thing, Mr. Stark." The boy's palms were sweaty but a smile still swept across his face.

As Tony walked into the building, the valet parker ran up to the car and started admiring it as if it were the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes upon.

Pepper Potts sat there in the meeting; she was taking notes and pay attention, as per usual. She glanced over at her watch and noticed the time. _11:14 AM._

"We want our marketing system to improve miraculously so we're—" Jones Hardman, the spokesman for KTA, stopped dead in his tracks. "—Mr. Stark, so nice of you to join us."

Pepper's head swung towards the doors in shock, nearly cracking her neck in the process. She furrowed her eyebrows but soon, that expression changed into a wide eyed and mouth gesture. Tony stood there with a small smile on his face. He motioned toward the seat next to Pepper and took it with in seconds.

"Hey." He whispered to her.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" She angrily whispered back, faking a smile. Pepper hated attracting attention.

"I came here to attend the meeting." He whispered back. "It's not like I'm _not_ allowed in my own building." Tony started taking out a pad of paper and a pencil that was safely tucked in the inside of his jacket.

"I _told you_ to rest at home—" She looked down at his hands. "—Is that—Is that paper and a pencil?"

"Are you mad that others have the ability to take notes, Miss Potts?" He joked with her, showing off that charm smile of his.

"Oh, can it, Stark." She angrily shot back. What was making him go to the meeting, refuse to rest at home, _and_ take notes? It was uncanny of him. Was that really Tony Stark? _Her_ Tony Stark? She glanced over at him every other minute and saw his hand movements. He _was actually_ taking notes. She leaned towards him to get a better view of what he was writing but his hand abruptly blocked her way.

"Cheating, Pepper? I didn't think I'd live to see this day." He joked with her as a small smile spread across his face. "If you want my notes, all you had to do was ask."

Pepper bit her bottom lip. "Why are you doing this, Tony?"

"I—" Just as he was about to tell her, the meeting was over.

"And that is why we need strength in numbers. Our residual data should be printed in the papers that were previously handed out. If all corporations could look over them, give us some feed back, and hopefully give us some pointers. We'll be glad to make the arrangements and hopefully create a better system, in which all would want to buy. In this case, you guys would get it for free and hopefully spread the word. And I assure you, you will get a small cut of the profits for your time. Thank you." Everyone started clapping as Jones Hardman walked away from the big projector. Tony widened his smile and softly clapped.

As Tony stood up, so did Pepper. She looked pissed and worried at the same time. He could only stand there and admire her. Even when she looked like she was about to bite a lion's head off, she looked amazingly cute.

"You didn't have to go to this meeting, Tony." She whispered in his ear.

"I was feeling a bit better after you left so I said, 'what the heck?'. It's not like this meeting will be detrimental to my health." He muffled a laugh. Both he and Pepper began to move towards the doorway.

"As long as no one pats you on the back or punches your shoulder…" She began.

"Yeah, but what are the chances of that?" Tony was about to move out of the way to let Pepper go first but someone came up behind him, and whipped him around with a squeeze on his shoulder.

_Oh god._ Tony stifled a hiss. The grip got tighter.

"The big man himself, Tony Stark." Jones greeted him with a wide smile.

Pepper made a distasteful and worried expression right when Jones started treating Tony like a son. He was always that way. Jones Hardman was well-known for his playful interaction with people he knew. He was like a father figure to others. _Poor Tony._

"Jones Hardman." Tony breathed, trying to divert his attention from the throbbing pain on his shoulder.

"You began to worry me, Tony." He squeezed his shoulder again, huddling him away from the door.

"Yeah, really?"

"This is the third time you've actually attended to one of my meetings." He pointed his index at him. "I mean – don't get me wrong, Miss Potts is a lovely person, but you're the kind of guy I like to see in the morning." He suddenly made a sour face, realizing what he had just said. "Not in _that_ way, of course. I'm married."

"I—I get your point." Tony nodded, trying to get out of his grasp.

"Hey, what do you say you and I go over some numbers tomorrow? It'll be like old times." His smile was like a thousand bucks. But it was mostly his hair. He had black, thick hair that was always spiked upwards. He was a middle aged Caucasian male that looked quite sharp in a business suit.

"I'm… I'm actually quite busy tomorrow." Tony lied. "My assistant actually wants to go over some numbers with me herself." He tried to laugh.

"Oh well, there's always next time. Look, I'll see you later. Stay frosty." And with that, Jones gave Tony a big pat on the back, making an incredibly audible sound. Pepper winced when he heard that noise.

She watched as Tony turned around with a painful expression on his face. Jones, on the other hand, walked towards the table to gather his things. Pepper walked up to him and placed her gentle hand on his back. _God, he must be in pain._

"Are you okay?"

"Home… would be nice." He mumbled, trying to shake it off.

"I'll call Happy to meet us at the front entrance." She reassured him. Pepper had the intense urge to rub his back but with Jones still in the room, she didn't want to take the chance. Yep, their relationship was still a big gigantic secret.

Tony opened the door for her and she quickly slipped out. He trailed behind her and saw the tag sticking out from her jacket. Jones closed the door behind him and rounded the corner. He caught Tony and Pepper walking towards the front entrance.

Tony put his hand on her back and carefully tucked the tag back in. He placed a gentle hand on her waist, making her hum in confusion.

"Your tag was hanging out." He replied with a soft smile.

"Oh, thanks." She grinned back, half fixated on her blackberry that fit snuggly in her palm.

Jones watched their movements and waiting for Pepper to shrug Tony's hand off her waist but nothing happened. After the pair exited the building, he furrowed his eyebrows and questioned his thoughts. He began to suspect something but quickly shrugged it off when he caught his business partner in sight.

Pepper slid into the car with ease. She watched Tony get into the car and heard him sigh in relief once he sat comfortably in his seat. Happy closed the door with a small smile on his face and rounded the car to get to the drivers seat. He looked in the rear view mirror.

"Where to, boss?"

"Home, Happy." Pepper replied. "Thanks."

Happy nodded and started driving away from the Stark Industries building.

Pepper sat next to Tony, making sure he was okay. He didn't look like he was in pain anymore but she still wanted to know why he attended the meeting. It wasn't like him at all.

"You okay?" She practically whispered.

"Yeah." Tony nodded. "Nothing to worry about."

"You know Jones. He likes to treat everyone like a son." She half smiled.

"Which is why I really don't like going to his meetings." He mumbled in response.

"Then why did you?" She asked, turning her body to face him.

"Well…" He paused to think of an excuse. "I—"

"Tony, I'm not stupid." She breathed a laugh. "I know what _you_ men do to get women to like you."

"Um…" He furrowed his eyebrows in complete, and utter, confusion. "What?"

_Tony Stark, confused and cute at the same time._ Pepper widened her smile. "Men want to make women happy, so they do what ever they can to make women like them. And in your case, you went to the meeting thinking I'd be as happy as a pig in mud."

"Wow." He breathed, smiling. "You read me like a book—wait, _is_ there a book on this kind of stuff?"

"You don't _need_ to try and make me happy, Tony." She placed her hand on top of his, ignoring his half-serious question. "I'm perfectly happy with you." Pepper saw Tony's eyes soften, and then she saw a warm smile spread across his face. "There's nothing wrong with trying to make me happy but just know that… being with you already makes me one hundred and ten percent happy. So, stop worrying."

He stared into her eyes and chuckled. "I know something that could make it _two-hundred_ percent."

She widened her smile and chuckled at his incredibly cheesy line. "Think about that one long, and hard, Mr. Stark?"

"Not as much as I think about you." He replied, looking down at her lips and then back up at her eyes.

"I'm still quite angry at you for disobeying my direct order to stay in bed." She declined his approval for a kiss. He began to pout like a little kid that was declined a lollipop. Just as Pepper sank back in her proper seat, Tony swung his legs towards her, facing her body.

"How—How can I tell what you want?" He asked bluntly, eyeing her delicious cream colored legs.

"What do you mean?" She asked, taking out her blackberry from her purse. Pepper managed to unlock her phone and skim the e-mail subjects before he spoke again.

"I can tell when a woman wants to be ravaged but…" Tony's comment made Pepper wrinkle her nose in distastefulness. "…I don't know when you're sad, angry or just want a book to read."

"Tony," She began, locking onto his curious gaze. "You'll know when I'm sad, angry or if I want to just read a book."

"What about when you're on your period?" He asked bluntly, again. Pepper began to glare at him.

_What kind of question is that?_ Pepper thought. If they weren't in a relationship, she'd be hitting him so hard, not even Jarvis would be able to approximate the time of recovery.

"I mean, all girls have a signal." Tony pressed his lips together. "Like that secretary in Tokyo."

"The one with a boyish haircut?" Pepper asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that one. When she's on her dot, she likes to paperclip everything in sight."

"And exactly how do you know that?" She glared at him intensely. Tony's eyes went wide and immediately flew to the first thought that came to mind.

_She thinks I had—_ "I swear I didn't, Pepper." He tried reassuring her.

"We only went to Tokyo five times, Tony." She laid her blackberry on her lap and crossed her arms at him.

"Yes, five times in two months. Two of those times, I saw her paper clipping everything in sight – even single paged papers—heck, even papers with nothing on them!" He explained, still trying to reassure her.

"So, what do you want? You want to know how _you'll_ know when I'm on my period?" Pepper changed the subject, hoping he would never explain how he knew about that woman's tell in Tokyo.

"Well…" Tony looked away for a second.

"If you can figure out that secretary's tell after seeing her only five times, then you'll have no problem figuring out mine, right?" She glared at him. Tony's eyes slightly widened in fear.

"Um… yeah." Tony quickly sunk back into his seat. _Crap… that didn't go so well._

Pepper untangled her arms and went back to checking her e-mail on her phone. Both were very quiet throughout most of the car ride. She was preoccupied with her work and he just didn't want to anger her even further. Tony was gazing out of his window when Pepper spoke up, thus breaking the awkward silence between them.

"I had one of the valet people drive your car back home." She said without looking up at him.

"Mm." He nodded, glancing over at her.

"So, who told you to go to the meeting?" She finally looked over at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You must've talked to someone after I left. I'm pretty sure someone had to guide you to the idea of going to the meeting."

"No one guided me into _trying_ to make you happy—"

"It was Rhodey, wasn't it?" She cut him off with a slight smile.

Tony began to look at her blankly. "Yeah…"

She began to chuckle at him; a small smile began to spread itself across her face. "What _exactly_ did he tell you?"

"He… didn't _exactly_ tell me anything—Well, he asked me where I'd take someone on a first date."

"Coffee shop." Pepper answered in a split second. She saw Tony frown at her quick answer. "Why, what'd you say?"

"Romantic five star restaurant." He mumbled. "You know I'm not that good at this stuff, Pepper. It's not like I've had dozens of long term relationships before."

"Mm, maybe you do need that book." She joked, smiling up at him.

"How many long term relationships have you had?" He asked dryly.

"Depends on how long we're talking about."

"Five months, at least."

"Three." She replied, looking away. "Surprisingly, they all happened before I started working for you."

"Wait—really? Was it because guys didn't want to date a woman that was working for the most handsome person on the planet?" Tony widened his grin.

"Actually, it was because they thought I was spending too much time with you. They were either jealous or really needy." She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"So, I'm actually the reason for all your break ups?" He put together the pieces.

"In a way, yeah."

"Oh…" Tony flashed an apologetic facial expression. "…but it was all worth it in the end, right?"

Pepper smiled warmly at him before resting her head on his shoulder. "I guess so." She nudged his side, letting him know that she was just kidding. Tony widened his smile before draping an arm over her shoulder. He presses a quick kiss on her head before breathing in her fruity scent.

"We have that Annual Johnson's Charity Ball to go to tomorrow night." Pepper reminded him, still clicking away on her blackberry.

"That's tomorrow?" Tony's mouth went crooked in confusion.

"Yup, and drying cleaning has already dropped off your clothes for tomorrow evening."

"Since you picked out what I'm going to wear, can I pick out what _you're_ going to wear?" He sexily looked down at her.

"What do you have in mind?" She curiously asked him.

"Blush colored lipstick." He replied, rubbing his thumb against her shoulder.

"I assume there's some kind of article of clothing _also _included."

"Nope." He widened his grin. "Blush colored lipstick and nothing else – of course, this is _before_ we go to the Ball."

Pepper rolled her eyes at his reply. "I should've expected that."

Tony laughed into her hair and pressed another small kiss to the top of her head. "Seriously, Pepper, you could go to the Ball in a clown suit, and still look incredibly sexy and gorgeous."

"Thanks… I think." Half of her lip curled upwards, trying to get the mental picture of a clown out of her head.

"We're here." Happy announced before the car stopped to a slow stop.

Pepper slid out of Tony's hold and got her belongings together before climbing out of the car. He trailed behind her, keeping his eyes on her lovely behind. Happy stood by the door and nodded as they exited the vehicle.

"Movies are usually the second date." Happy whispers as Tony walks by, making him do a quick double take. He takes a quick note of it before dismissing Happy with a nod.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Short chapter :) Happy New Years! **

Right after the, unexpected, 11 o'clock meeting, Pepper immediately went straight to work. Her laptop, purse, Blackberry and various papers were spread out on the coffee table. She was furiously at work, battling her cell phones stubbornness and laptop's sticky keys.

Tony came from his bedroom and noticed his PA sitting on the couch, working like the deadline is in two minutes. He quietly walked towards the kitchen and poured himself two mugs of coffee. He set the pot down before walking towards Pepper's busy form.

Out of the blue, Pepper hears something clink on top of the table, right next to her arm. She glances over and sees Tony sitting himself down with his own cup of coffee.

"Thanks." She breathed, taking the cup, and practically chugging down all of its contents.

Tony took a sip out of his. "So…"

Pepper began typing something on her Blackberry before noticing his eager expression. "Yes?"

"Coffee." He pointed out. "Want to talk about something?" His hand started to mindlessly rub the side of the mug in nervousness.

Suddenly, Pepper felt a rush of awkwardness. "Can't talk to JARVIS about it?"

"I'm not dating JARVIS." He mumbled, implying his real purpose.

"Huh?" She furrows her eyebrows at him.

Tony heavily signed. "Wow, this is harder than it sounds."

Pepper looked at his disappointed expression and then at their coffee mugs. "Oh." Her mouth gapped before her lips suddenly curled upwards. _At least he's trying._ "Trying to go by the book?—Wait, did you _get_ a book?"

"I googled." He nodded. "Then I asked JARVIS, but sadly, I haven't upgraded him with a dating program yet." He glanced down at his cup. "Sorry if I didn't properly ask you out on a date."

"We have coffee." She reassured him. "And I could use a break."

"Yeah…" Tony felt his hands start to sweat. He shook off the feeling and abruptly barged through the moment. "Okay, this is weird."

"What's weird?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows at him.

"You have gotten me coffee plenty of times over the past ten years—and we've already gotten past the whole talking thing. It shouldn't be this hard for us," He motioned in the space between them. "to do _this_." He stared at the coffee for a few seconds.

"So…" Pepper suddenly became confused. "…do you want to skip the coffee or—"

"I want to do this _right_, Pepper." He looked up at her with an eager expression. His chocolate brown eyes became soft and glossy against the sky light that shined above them. Pepper's lips formed a small smile while her hand snaked towards his. Tony felt his hand being pulled down from his coffee mug. He glanced down at her gentle light peach hand, letting her guide him.

Pepper scooted next to him and led his hand towards her hip. Tony placed it there, eagerly waiting to pull her closer. She leaned forward, practically brushing her soft and glossy lips against his. She felt his goatee tickle her upper lip. She felt his breath warmly glide against her jaw. Slowly, their lips met, the day's tasks were forgotten, and the stress suddenly dissolved. Tony's hand almost dropped the cup of coffee, but something in the back of his head told him not to… for Pepper's sake.

He felt Pepper's arms snake up his chest. Her hands gripped his shoulders, pulling him closer. In a matter of milliseconds, they found their way to his neck. Her fingers ran through the short hairs on the lower back of his head. Just as she pulled away, she heard Tony groan in appeal. Pepper's smile widened. She opened her eyes and saw the playful grin on his face. He opened his eyes and immediately missed her lips.

"That's teasing." He whimpered.

"I told you I needed a break." She chuckled, feeling his hand slide down from her hip and seeing it grip the coffee cup that was still in his hand.

"A break is five minutes; not five seconds."

"A break is a break, Tony. Besides, the more work I get done, the faster we can resume." Pepper glanced at him with a grin.

"I guess I could scratch 'First Date' off the list—unless coffee and kissing doesn't count." Tony drummed his fingers against the mug before taking a sip from it.

"I'm pretty sure it counts." She lightly laughed.

"Well, just in case if it doesn't—" He scooted towards her and leaned in for a kiss but Pepper leaned away.

"You can't fool me that easily, Stark." Pepper chuckled.

_Denied again_. "C'mon," Tony pouted. "Just one more kiss for the road."

"You'll have to wait until tonight."

"What's tonight?" He curiously asked. "Iron Man lingerie, grapes and two cans of whip cream?" A small laugh escaped his lips just as one escaped Pepper's.

"Funny, Tony." She smiled. "I believe that's on date twenty. So, you've got a long ways to go."

Tony's expression abruptly went slack.

"I'm kidding." She couldn't stop getting his horrified look out of her head. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"You're seriously asking me that?" He slyly grinned.

"I don't usually have sex on the first date, Mr. Stark. So, you're out of luck on in that department." She gave him a quick smile.

"Ugh…" Tony groaned. "…Want to watch a movie?"

"Already jumping to the second date?"

"I'm trying to get to date twenty as quickly as possible." He half-joked.

"We can see a movie tomorrow." She promised him. "Tonight, I just want to stay in and relax."

"And that involves…?"

"Cuddling?"

Tony groaned again and sadness. He really didn't want to _just_ cuddle with her. He wanted to show her how much he's missed, and how he can't stand to not see her every minute.

"It's either cuddling or nothing, Tony." She pressed her lips together and glared at him. "Pick."

"Okay, okay." He mentally raised his white flag. He got up and gestured towards the stairs that led to his workshop. "If you want to tease me some more, I'll be in my workshop."

Pepper nodded with a small smile. She watched him walk towards the stairs before getting back to work. Her Blackberry was already whipped out and ready to endure massive e-mail sending.

Tony stopped at the threshold of the staircase and turned around to embrace her presence once more before disappearing to his workshop. He took a minute to memorize and admire every feature she had; her creamy peach skin, the way her eyes were so fixated on her work, the way her smile always curled upwards at an adorable angle, the way her orange hair fell gently against her face, the way her hands typed so furiously on her phone yet they always felt as gentle as a rainforest, and the way she always tied her hair up… god, she was so perfect.

Tony's grin widened with happiness. That grin didn't disappear until he got to his work bench in the workshop.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: To avoid any confusion, they've already cuddled the night away. This chapter is set in the day after—so tonight is their night for the Charity Ball and some movie date fun :). Hello, 2011, make yourself at home in my Robert Downey Jr 'infested' dorm room!**

Tony sat down at his desk, in his workshop, and worked on some more weapon ideas for Iron Man. He had taken his jacket and shirt off, revealing his thin white wife beater. In his left hand was his screw driver and in his right hand was a small mechanical device. Jarvis' monitor, which sat on the edge of his desk, monitored the frequency and effectiveness of the small weapon.

He sat there for what seemed like a few hours, again, trying to find the right frequency and pitch levels for the device. If he tried the weapon out with the wrong levels and percentages, things would blow up—he would blow up.

"Fury is on line one, sir." JARVIS announced.

"Mm." Tony hummed, completely dissolving himself in his work.

All of the monitors in the workshop went black for a split second before showcasing Fury's head and upper body. Fury, the man with the eye patch, looked at Tony with a very displeasing face.

"Tony."

"Mm." He hummed again, completely unaware that he's there, on his monitors.

"Tony, eyes over here." He called to him again.

"JARVIS, frequency at two hundred RPMS. How's it look over there?"

Fury rolled his eyes and heavily sighed. "I swear, I'm too old for this kind of bullshit."

"Frequency is too high – now taking necessary precautions. Powering down the device for five minutes." The AI announced.

Tony watched as his device went from glowing bright red to a dim grey. With a heavy sigh, he put down his screwdriver and mechanical weapon. He pressed his lips and looked at Fury's displeasing… eye?

"Look what you made me do." Tony half-joked. "Now I have to wait for this thing to cool down."

"Not my device, not my problem." Fury spat back at him.

Tony reached for his water bottle that sat in between the two monitors at his desk. "What do you want, Fury? Pepper—"

"I know, I know. You kids don't have to tell me twice. Pepper has already 'excused' you from any kind of missions for the next two weeks." Fury cut him off.

"Actually, it's two weeks and a day – just enough time for me to fully recover." Tony flashed a gloating smile.

"Oh, shut up." Fury began to cross his arms. "The mention of a couple days off and you kids think alls well in the world. Well, sorry to tell you this, but the world can't take care of itself."

"Pepper scares you, huh?" Tony widened his grin.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Fury watched as Tony took a sip of water. "Which is why I'm going to tell you some information that you should _not_ tell Pepper."

"Why shouldn't I tell Pepper?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"_Will_ you just let me finish?" Fury angrily asked him. "God, are all you kids impatient, and hormone induced fiends?"

"Isn't that what old people say all the time?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows at him, half-joking.

"Are _you_ calling me old?" Fury widened his one eye at him with his hands resting on his hip.

Pause. "No." Tony cautiously looked at him, as if he had just gotten caught with a cookie before supper.

"Right now, I have the Black Widow investigating, but there's no telling what his purpose is, or what he wants to accomplish." Fury looked down at the information folder in front of him.

"You still haven't told me—"

"I'm _getting_ there." Fury scolded him. He shifted his weight and looked at Tony with a very serious look. "This matter concerns both you and your lady friend."

"Actually, she's my girlfriend now so—"

"Oh, really?" Fury sarcastically asked. "The press doesn't say jack about your 'girlfriend', so for now, she's your lady friend."

"You could at least call her my personal assistant." Tony began to mumble, "Sounds a lot better than 'lady friend'."

"What was that?" Fury warned him.

Another pause. "Nothing." Tony looked away; his eyes wandered towards his device, which was still on the fritz, and then back up at Fury. "So, about this information…?"

"This concerns the double mission you were on, which you so _eagerly_ asked for. And just to clear some confusion, your injuries are in _no way_ my fault." Fury's seriousness took over again.

"Yeah, I know." Tony replied to his last comment. "The last mission almost got me sawed in half, but I destroyed all of the stolen weaponry, so—"

"He's still _alive_, Tony." Fury cut him off again.

Tony widened his eyes. "How?"

"I don't know. Captain America said he spotted him a few clicks east of the Pacific Ocean. This was a fifteen hours and three minutes after you called in your mission into the database." Fury suspiciously watched Tony's actions.

Tony ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "He stole my weapons twice, Fury. What's he doing in South America—wait, what's this got to do with Pepper?"

"According to Black Widow, Pepper is in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Tony perked up. His hands were already in a tight grip, out of anger, and fear.

"I don't know which is why I said earlier that she's investigating, even as we speak. I'm not going to get Thor, Captain America, or the Hulk in this mess – not until I know the fine details. For now, you, and Natasha, are on your own." Fury told him.

Tony hated it when bad news surrounded even more bad news. Okay, so there was a potential bad guy running around with _his_ weapons. _That_ he can handle, but when Pepper gets involved, it turns into something entirely different.

"What happens if more of my weapons blink on your little radar of truth and justice." Tony sarcastically, and seriously, asked.

"Then I will let someone take care of it—not you." Fury angrily said, pointing at him with his index finger. "Pepper is a scary woman, and I _do not_ want to be scolded by her again."

Tony smirked at his comment.

"You will stay on suspension until you fully recover. In the mean time, Natasha will regularly visit you with vital information about this matter." Fury informed him. "If you so happen as to fly around in that little suit of yours, against my knowledge, and act as if you're saving the world by taking on a mission that wasn't yours to begin with, I will take that hot rod of yours, smash it into a bean bag, and display it in my living room."

"My hot rod?" Tony sadly mumbled with a frown.

"No flying, and no telling Pepper. Got it?" Fury angrily asked him.

"Yes…" Tony nodded. "…will you at least inform me if more of my weaponry pops up?"

Fury suddenly smiled. "Ha ha." That smile instantly turned into a frown. "No. Natasha will be visiting you tonight, so—"

"Tonight?" Tony cut him off with a frown. "Why tonight?"

"_Is_ there a problem?"

"Yes. Pepper and I were supposed to have our movie date after the Charity Ball—" Tony complained. There's no way he would let something interrupt his movie night with his lady friend. _Did I just think of Pepper as my lady friend?_

"Well tough luck." Fury spat back. "Remember, no flying. I've got my eye on you." There was a close up of Fury's eye before all of the monitors went blank. They all blinked before displaying the frequencies and pitch levels again. Just as everything went back to normal, he saw the device in front of him go back to its bright red glow. Tony heavily sighed before running his hand through his hair again.

He buried his head in his hands and slid them down to cup his mouth.

"You okay?" Pepper asked, looking over at him. She had just entered her password into the glass door, and had silently snuck in, like a ninja.

_When did she—?_ "Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled weakly at her.

"I heard you talking to someone. Was it Fury?" She curiously asked him, walking towards him with a click of her heels in every step she took.

"Um, no. It was just some telemarketer." He lied, hoping she bought it.

"You know a telemarketer with one eye and a black eye patch?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at him, slapping a few files down on his desk, making him practically jump.

He looked down at the stacks, and then over at her waist where he spotted her hands. It was almost never a good thing to see Pepper's hands on her waist. It either meant that she was impatiently waiting for something, or that she was extremely pissed at a certain billionaire ex-play boy.

"Fury was just informing me about something." He confessed, slowly looking up at her. God, she was so beautiful. _I must've thought about how perfectly beautiful she was dozens, millions—no, gazillions of times._ Her hair was down this time – probably because she was in the middle of getting ready for the Charity Ball they had to attend in… an hour—_Oh, crap… That's why she's down here._

"And that something is…?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Um… nothing." Tony smiled, "It's almost time to go to the charity thing, right?"

"Tony—" She tried to ask him again but he shot her down.

"I should get ready." He abruptly got up from his seat; their chests almost rubbed against each other. Pepper stepped out of his way and watched as he started _willingly_ walking towards the glass door.

He turned around with a wide grin. "Got to look my best for my girlfriend, right?"

"You mean the CEO's of various major corporations?" She smiled back, completely unaware of what her real purpose was.

"If they're the most beautiful red heads I've ever seen, and that I'll be seeing them again tonight for a little movie date… then yes, I mean the CEO's of various major corporations." He flashed her his number one charm smile before fully exiting the workshop. Once the glass door closed shut, and he disappeared up the stairs, Pepper immediately glanced over at his desk. She had the choice to hack his computer, get JARVIS on her side, and figure out what he and Fury were talking about. But then that would be breaching their invisible trust contract that came with their relationship. She bit the bottom of her lip and casually walked away, leaving the stacks of papers on his desk, alone, on the cold metal table.

Tony had gotten ready in a matter of thirty minutes. He had quickly taken a shower, trimmed his goatee, and went to the bathroom. It was a breeze to get his suit on, but there was always one problem; his tie. He walked out of his room with the tie draped across his neck. He slid it one way, and then the next, before looking up at the figure in front of him.

Pepper had her back to him, and she looked amazingly wonderful. She was wearing a strapless black dress that began to frizzle at the bottom. Her orange hair was down, and the ends were curled lightly. She wore a tiny diamond hair pin that pinned some of her hair back. Tony widened his smile and silently approached her from behind. Pepper put down her black beaded clutch purse and was about to fix her hair pin, but ended up squealing in surprise.

He had wrapped his arms around her waist and dug his face in the crook of her neck. When she gasped in surprise, he giggled in excitement. Once she realized who it was, she reached up and gently stroked his face with her hand.

"Mm, you smell great." He whispered, rubbing his hands up and down her sides.

"And your cologne smells _very_ manly." She smirked, turning around in his arms. He looked down at her and linked his hands behind her back, resting them on her upper buttocks.

She looked down at the unraveled tie around his neck and widened her smile. She took both sides of the tie with her small, gentle and creamy peachy skin, and began to go through the process. While she tied his tie, he admired every single motion her hands made. Just by watching her, he had already memorized how to tie his own tie, but watching her do it for him made it seem romantic. After she had finished tying his tie and tightening it to perfectly mold his neck, she felt his finger tilt her chin up, making her lips capture his. Her hands rested on his chest, surrounding the arc reactor, and his hands pulled her hips forward, thus deepening the kiss.

She couldn't stop kissing him—she didn't _want_ to stop. His cologne drove her wild, and his hands drove her into a deeper insanity. She wasn't the one that pulled away this time. Tony gently pulled his lips away, and rested his forehead against hers, search for oxygen. He breathed a laugh and kissed her on the lips once more.

"Excited for movie night?" He curiously asked her.

"Depends on what movie." She teased.

"You get to pick." Tony widened his smile.

"If _I_ pick, it's either going to be a chick flick, or a comedy." Pepper warned him.

Tony squeezed her hips. "Whatever you pick is fine with me."

"Really?"

"Really… just don't pick The Titanic, The Notebook, or A Walk to Remember. Those are too sappy for me."

"How's about I _surprise _you?" She said sexily, looking up at him with those soft blue eyes of hers.

"I _like_ surprises."

"I know."

"Ahem." A cough came from the doorway. Happy stood there with a small smile on his face. "Are you kids ready to go?"

"Yes, Happy, we are." Pepper nodded and escaped from Tony's grasp. She grabbed her clutch purse from the counter and walked towards the door. Tony loosened his tie a little before trailing behind her. Happy walked out the door and headed to the car. Pepper closed the door and turned around to face him.

"Tony." She whispered.

"Yes?"

"The press doesn't know about our relationship."

"Yes." He nodded with a small smile. "I know."

"Until we're _both ready_ to face the music, we can't have any sort of PDA, okay?"

"Aye Aye, Captain." He sarcastically told her.

"Tony, I mean it." She glared at him.

"Okay, okay. I get it. No PDA, kissing, holding hands, or any touching what so ever; not until we're ready…" He agreed with a nod.

"Thanks." She widened her smile. She went on her tippy toes to give him a small peck on the cheek. Tony began to flash a warm smile; one that always made her stomach melt. Pepper proceeded to open the door and walk towards the limo. Tony trailed behind her with his hand on the small of her back. The teenager in him already wished the Charity Ball was over so they could start cuddling on the couch with a warm blanket draped over them, a movie to watch, and a bowl of popcorn to munch on.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony and Pepper arrived at the Charity ball in a black Bentley. Happy parked the car right in front of the red carpet, and wrapped around to open the door for them. Tony was sharply dressed in his tuxedo, as well as Pepper in her beautiful black dress. They walked the red carpet as if their relationship had never existed. He had put his hand on the small of her back but that was it. He didn't whisper anything in her ear, nor did he try to sneak in a little kiss on the cheek. Their plan was to be a little separated throughout the whole entire event.

The press was there, surrounding the red carpet like a field of ants surrounding a chunk of apple. Flashes were blazing and names were yelled. After five minutes of posing and smiling for the press, Tony and Pepper began to make their way inside the mansion.

Johnson's Charity Ball was held at Johnson's own mansion. Johnson was the CEO and founder of the prestigious company known as, VG Corp. VG Corp was well known for producing specialized software that the military uses in order to successfully carry out any mission. The details are a little fuzzy in what the software exactly does.

Johnson's mansion was very elegant. The walls inside of the house were all white and most of the busts, vases, and pieces of art inside were either silver or pearl white. A lot of big shot CEOs, Presidents, and Vice Presidents were invited to the exclusive Ball. It was a six hour party complete with a DJ, a food table that seemed to stretch as a far as half a football field, and a dance floor that was big enough to fit at least one hundred people.

The event was pretty simple. Everyone was there to mingle. They'd talk about the various projects their corporations and businesses are planning, they'd make deals, and there'd be some trust bonds between businessmen. It was a very formal event.

Tony went left and Pepper went right. In a couple of sends, many businessmen were surrounding Pepper with their questions and concerns about Stark Industries. Tony was surrounded by a few important people that owned their own companies. The majority of people that wanted to talk to Tony were women. No surprise there.

Every now and then, Pepper would look over at Tony to see what he was doing. Of course, she saw the women that were scooting closer and closer to Tony, and the men that were itching to get some basic joint project plans out of him.

It was a typical benefit, but after a while, Tony started wondering what Pepper was doing. He was still surrounded by CEOs and women, but it felt right to excuse himself so he could check up on his girlfriend. He nodded to the men and woman in front of him before turning around and walking towards the crowd. He squeezed through the men in sharp suits, the women in backless and sparkly solid colored dresses before finally spotting his P.A.

Once he saw her beautiful orange hair lying gently on her shoulders, he smiled with delight. He walked over to her back and had the intense urge to wrap his hands around her waist, but due to the crowds and crowds of people surrounding them, he quickly waved it off.

"Hey." He whispered.

Pepper turned around, letting Tony see that he was interrupting a very interesting conversation between her and… Jones Hardman?

"Hardman." Tony breathes.

Pepper smiles up at him and then back at Jones.

"Mr. Stark," Jones grins at him, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What a pleasure to see you outside of the office."

"Yeah." Tony nodded before looking over at Pepper. "Was I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no." Pepper shook her head, and shifted her gaze between the two men. "Mr. Hardman was just complimenting me on my choice of attire for this evening's event."

"Your personal assistant _does_ know how to make the boys go crazy." Jones jokes.

"Yeah." Tony fakes a smile. "She's amazing, isn't she?"

Jones slightly nods and starts to look away. He notices the sudden silence that falls upon the three of them. He looked over at Pepper and widened his grin.

"Well, I can see when an awkward turtle rolls in." He fakes a laugh but quickly stops. "Listen, I'll talk to _you_," He looks over at Pepper. ", later about Project Kin. I'll call you to set up a meeting."

As Jones walks away from the pair, Tony furrows his eyebrow at his assistant. Pepper smiles at the leaving businessman before turning her head to look up at her boss. She returns the same puzzled expression.

"What?"

"Project Kin?" He starts to raise an eyebrow.

"He was talking about some project his company is working on. It was supposed to be on the down low—"

"But he felt the need to tell my assistant?" Tony interrupted her.

"He was just being flirtatious." She waves the jealous vibe off.

"Mm, I'll bet." Tony turned his head to glare back at the man, but felt something hit his forearm. He whipped his head back and felt a smile form across his face. "What?"

"Mr. Stark, if you would like tonight's activity to even _happen_, you'll stop _it,_ right now." She threatened him with a fake smile.

Tony's grin grew wider. He knew she was just playing with him. It actually made him feel a little happier… for some odd reason. His hand mindlessly reached for her cheek but he caught Pepper's warning look. He quickly retracted it and awkwardly tucked it back into his pocket, hoping no one saw anything.

"I can't be the tiniest jealous?"

"As cute as it is, _Mr. Stark_, I can't afford to see Iron Man rip formally threaten the CEO of a major weapons development company. I _literally_ cannot afford it. The press would be all over our _thing_ and then there will be chaos between Stark Industries and Hardman Industries—" She started to list the possibilities of consequences that could erupt but, Tony stopped her.

"Okay, okay. I get it. No threatening or pandas will take over the world." He said jokingly.

"Funny." She glared at him. "I'm being serious, Tony."

"I know."

"I mean—I know you hate keeping big secrets from the press," She started thinking about his big Iron surprise to the press last year. "but our relationship could very well be the destruction of Iron Man."

Tony looked down at her with a serious expression. He glanced over at his left and saw the massive amounts of people that were mingling near the dance floor. He pressed his lips and nodded. A sudden problematic thought started spinning in his head. _Is she having second thoughts?_

"Are you having second thoughts?" He whispered. In his head, he was thanking the loud classical music for covering their conversation.

"Second—second thoughts?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows. "About what?"

"Our relationship."

"Tony, I'm not _you_—"

"What does that mean?" He pressed his lips together. "I wasn't having second thoughts, Pepper, I—I was just confused on how I should go… go about… our—our relationship…" His small frown made Pepper heavily sigh. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"What… do you mean by—"

"Us talking to each other like this." He interrupted her. He saw her lips press together in frustration. "I—I haven't… exactly gotten that book yet… so I don't know if this is good... or-or-or bad…"

"It's good." She nodded, quipped with a small smile.

"Really?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Communication is good for the relationship. There's no make-up sex if there's no fight." She said that just to make him smile like a little kid in a candy store.

He could help but widen that smile. She understood his silent objectives, and attitude. He wouldn't be Tony Stark if he didn't care about the sex. Even if it was his past, he's still got to be itching to get rid of the celibacy.

"You know exactly what to say to me, Miss Potts."

"Be thankful that I do because if I didn't, I wouldn't be running _your_ life and _your _company." She grinned up at him.

"You look gorgeous, by the way." He complimented her. He stared at her light orange hair that seemed to shine brighter when under a big gigantic chandelier that looked like it cost more than the Iron Man suit.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark. I believe you already said that before we left." She held her clutch purse in front of her with both of her hands.

"Well…" He tilted his head. "You can never get too many compliments. They usually lead to bigger… and better… things." He lowered his gaze to emphasize the meaning behind his statement.

Pepper saw his eyes revert back up to her gaze, and quickly smiled. "Mr. Stark, do you ever wonder _why_ I always used to threaten you with a sexual harassment law suit?"

"Not really."

"Would you like to find out?" She threatened him with the stare of absolute death.

Tony stood there and slowly shook his head. As turned on as he was with the way she was looking at him, he didn't want to anger her even further. It was usually the same routine. If she was mad at him, she would let him know with her threatening glares, and end up not talking to him for at least a couple days. The fact that she would tell him about his meetings through JARVIS made it even worse because it meant that she was _really_ pissed.

"Good." She faked a wide smile.

"How can I woo my girlfriend when she always hits my ass with a sexy life threatening glare and a sexual harassment lawsuit?"

Pepper walks past him in her sexy black dress. She knows that he's watching her every move, so before she walks into the crowd of mingling businessmen, she slowly turns her head to face him.

"Be creative." Pepper says seductively.

Tony's mouth slowly gaps just as Pepper walks back into the crowd with those gorgeous long legs of hers. It felt like everything was in slow motion. Her hair was slowly flowing with the sway of her hips. The gravity would tug it down just as it reached its peak—my god, she was sexy.

He wanted to follow her around like a lost puppy. He wanted to show her how much he wanted her, and how long he's been waiting for her. He actually was about to trail behind her, but a big strong hand gripped his shoulder. Tony felt an intense shot of pain circle his back and shoulder.

"Tony Stark." A deep low voice echoed behind him.

Trying to ignore the pain, Tony turned around and saw Greg Leon, CEO and founder of Leon Industries. Greg Leon had a very strong masculine build. He was in his early thirties, clearly showing off his father's money, hence the new advanced technology business. His company built computers, aircrafts, missiles, etc. His father, Henry Leon, was very well known, but not for anything related to weapons. His father built his whole empire on a newspaper business. When Greg's father died of lung cancer, he inherited his father's fortune. He shut down the newspaper business and used that money to create his own industry. To much of the world's surprise, Leon Industries' fame was built upon his father's legacy, giving the industry an incredible head start.

Tony never paid much attention to the newspaper, but when Pepper told him that Leon Industries was second in Forbes' list, his ears couldn't help but perk up in acknowledgement. Greg had brown short hair that didn't look like it needed to be combed, he was the same exact height as Tony, and he wore an elegant black tux with a very dark green tie.

Tony smiled back, mentally slapping the man silly for interrupting his action. "Greg Leon."

His hazel green eyes were so gentle, and calm. They were nothing like the businessmen surrounding them, stressed, panicky, and ambitious. "I didn't know you were invited to this Ball."

"Yeah, well, _not_ inviting Tony Stark is pretty much considered a crime these days." Tony replied with a big gigantic smile.

Greg tucked his hand in his pants pocket and held his wine glass by the stem. "Word is, is that Iron Man is no longer conquering the skies."

"What makes you say that?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. _Does he know…?_

"Well, usually there are reports of Iron Man flying in the sky, saving human beings, and what not. But for the past couple days, there have been news of Captain America and Spider Man." Greg studies Tony's facial expressions and quickly smiles. "Surely, the kids are wondering where their faithful Iron hero is."

Tony reacts to his last statement with a small smile. "Even heroes need a break."

"Kids look up to you, Mr. Stark. It's only wishful thinking that you reciprocate with the acknowledgement of their existence."

"You obviously haven't paid attention to the news, have you?" Tony started to smirk.

"Contrary to popular belief, I probably pay more attention to the news than you."

"There are times when you need to work on more important stuff—"

"It's kind of interesting, really." Greg started to swirl the contents in his wine glass. "_You_ make your personal assistant – who at one time was your boss – do everything for you."

Tony narrowed his eyes at him. _What is he getting at?_ "And you don't?" _Really, Stark? Is that the only come back you can think of?_

"I do my own laundry, I take my own notes, I make my own coffee, I build my own mechanical prototypes, I go to my own meetings, _I attend meetings in general,_ and I do my own calculation."

Tony started to chuckle, but with a confident smile, he said, "And you wonder why Leon Industries is second to Stark Industries?"

Greg takes that insult to the heart and starts to smile. Being the good sport that he is, he starts to nod. "You take everything for granted, Tony."

"You don't know me." Tony calmly snapped back. If he had the power to burn something just by glaring at it, Greg would be on fire in an instant.

"But I know your intuitions as a part time CEO of what used to be a weapons manufacturer." One edge of Greg's lip was tugged upwards. "You have suits and technology everyone is craving. As time continues to pass, you start thinking about the future, thus creating newer and better technology than the previous. No matter how powerful you think you are with those suits of yours, hatred will always exist. Even if every nation gets their hands on your technology, war will still continue to make this world bleed. No matter how protected you think you may be, the people you care most about will _always_ be in danger. Your P.A, your military friend, and even your computerized butler, they are all in danger because Tony Stark exists."

Tony's eyes slightly widened. He gazed at Greg for what seemed like a few minutes. His whole entire lecture was spreading through Tony's mind like wild fire. _He's right._ He was right and Tony knew that he was just trying to get into his head, but deep down, he was actually right. There was technology in this world that he, himself, created for the purpose of helping one nation destroy another. Time passes, which means that adaption and advancement is necessary in order to progress into a higher and sensible world. As long Stark Industries continues to advance their technology, everyone Tony is linked to is in danger, one way or another.

"Food for thought." Greg whispered, right before he walked past him, brushing his shoulder roughly against Tony's.

Tony stared into space for a while before turning his head to glare at Greg's back. He hated it when that man was right. If he didn't have the suits, then none of his friends would be in danger – Pepper wouldn't be in danger. Tony gritted his teeth before his fists turned into tight balls.

With a heavy sigh and glance around the crowd, he left his spot in search for something else to do, so he could think of something else. He walked towards the bar and leaned against the table. He waved down the bartender and asked for a glass of water on the rocks.

"That isn't like you at all, Mr. Stark." A woman told him.

Tony whipped his head around and widened his eyes once he saw who it was. "Natalie – Natasha?"

"I didn't know you were striving to become permanently sober." She leaned against the bar, facing him. Her auburn curly hair danced gracefully on her shoulders.

"I'm just keeping Pepper happy." Tony responded. The bartender placed a tall glass of ice water in front of him and Tony immediately took a sip of it. He held the glass in his hand and furrowed his eyebrows at the SHIELD agent. "What… exactly… are you doing here?"

"Didn't Fury inform you of my appearance?" Natalie slightly furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"He did… but I didn't think you would show up at this—were you even _invited_ to this Ball?" Tony tilted his head to the side in doubt.

"For your information, I was." Natalie turned around and walked towards the crowd. Tony reluctantly trailed behind her, placing the glass back on the bar table.

"Really?" Tony hummed to himself. "We're you invited, or did you invite yourself?"

"Does it matter?" Natalie angrily asked him, becoming annoyed with his actions.

"It depends." He slightly smiled. "Are you here to tell me important information or are you just here to mingle with the crowd, scope out the area and do some damage? Honestly, I can't get a read on you."

Once Tony was done talking, Natalie abruptly turned around to face him, almost making him bump into her chest first. He stopped in time with a bit of distance between them.

"Fury doesn't want you to know about the status of your stolen weaponry."

"I already know—"

"Two major campsites containing your weaponry were found in Russia." Natalie cut him off, revealing essential information.

"What?" Tony's eyes slightly widened; his breath hitched.

"It's under control, don't worry."

"Then why—"

"When SHIELD contained the area, they didn't find _him_."

"I thought Fury said that he was in South America. Captain America—"

"Captain American thought he had captured him, but when he brought to headquarters, it turned out he was a duplicate." Natalie looked up at him, watching his every facial expression.

Tony looked away, in shock and fear. After a few seconds, he looked back at her with a serious expression. "He's trying to confuse us."

"He's taunting us, Tony."

"No," He shook his head. "He's trying to make us think that we don't know what he actually looks like. He's trying to make us paranoid." Tony pressed his lips together and angrily looked away. "What the hell is he doing…?"

"Don't beat yourself up over this—"

"How can I not?" He snapped back at her. "I put my ass on the line to get Vanko and Hammer in jail. Again, I'm doing everything I can to catch this son of a bitch, but he's using my weapons—_my weapons_—to _hurt_ innocent people. The people _I'm _supposed to be protecting."

"Tony, stop." She sternly told him. "SHEILD is doing everything they can to help—"

"_I_ should be the one out there, searching for him, and making sure he doesn't create more chaos." Tony looked around, hoping anyone wasn't eavesdropping. He looked back down at her with a hurt expression. "I'm in here… talking to businessmen I don't give a damn about, and intently ignoring my girlfriend because we aren't ready to go public."

"You're really stubborn, you know that?" Natalie glared at him.

"Natalie—Natasha—SHEILD agent—whatever… do you realize that… that if I hadn't had developed these weapons in the first place, all of this chaos would've never happened."

"What are you trying to say?"

Tony heavily sighed and pressed his lips together. "If I wasn't so egotistical, and self indulged, none of this would have ever happened. And more importantly, Pepper would be safe."

"Tony, Pepper _is_ safe."

"No." Tony shushed her. "Fury said that _you_ said that she wasn't safe."

"To be honest, _no one_ is safe in this world."

"Now you're just being ridiculous." Tony had grown impatient.

"Pepper is safe because you're there to protect her. She _will_ be in danger if you let her." Natalie explained to him.

"But—"

"Tony." She breathed. "Without the technology, your textbook narcissism, egotistical self and your ability to be an ass, none of _this_ would even exist. Pepper wouldn't be in love with you, you wouldn't have built the suits, and you would have never learned that there is more to life than just women, sex, and money."

Tony stood there, staring at the woman before him. She actually made sense. Everything in his mind started to jumble up and thrash against the walls of his skull. He hated it when Greg made sense and he hated it when Natalie made sense. He _especially_ hated it when Natalie used Pepper to make perfect and absolute sense.

"Excuse me." A man breathed, edging his way to the other side by squeezing in between Natalie and Tony.

"Why do you always have to—" Once the man successfully interrupted their conversation and traveled to the other side of the crowd, Natalie seemed to have disappeared with him. "—make sense?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows and looked left and right. He even looked up at the ceiling.

Natalie disappeared, leaving Tony to ponder about her final words to him.

**A/N: I called her Natalie because Natasha was too 'Secret Agent' like. I'm sorry if you think it should be Natasha or Natashalie. I'm sorry I took so long to post the next chapter. College got in the way and my Computer Science class is kicking me in the butt. Studying is a pain but it's the only way to graduate. I am truly sorry for the grammatical errors, as well as any spelling errors. When I read it, it sounds fine, because I know what I mean. It's partially why I ask my friends to proof read my essays, but fanfiction is a whole different story. They know about my Robert Downey Jr obsession. For some reason, I'd also be a little embarrassed if I asked them to proof read my fanfic. Good night everyone, TGIF!**


	7. Chapter 7

Pepper entered Tony's mansion with a warm smile. She threw her black clutch purse on the couch and heavily sighed. It was a long evening and she felt really tired. She was too tired to even tell Tony about the various businessmen that wanted to part take in his next project. Actually, she was too tired to remember about that stuff. She turned around and saw Tony slowly pass through the threshold with a yawn. His tie was unknotted and draped across his neck. He widened his smile and immediately walked over to her. Pepper backed up against the arm of the couch and looked up at him with a relaxed smile. He placed his hands on her hips and deeply sighed.

"So, about that movie…" He looked down at her playful orange hair and started fluttering his eyes closed.

"The movie can wait—"

"No." He forced his eyes open and slightly shook his head.

"Tony, you look really tired." She pointed out.

"I'm just resting my eyes." He smirked. "C'mon, pick out a movie and we'll have that date."

Pepper chuckled when she saw that he was slowly leaning forward. "Why are you in such a hurry? We can have the date tomorrow night."

Tony buried his face in the crook of her neck and mumbled something incoherently. She widened her smile and asked what he said.

"Date twenty." He blankly told her.

"Trying to get to date twenty as fast as possible?"

"Iron Man lingerie." He mumbled, sleepily.

"It really sounds that appealing?" She wrapped her hands around his neck and felt his goatee tickle the side of her neck.

He lifted his face from the crook of her neck and nodded. His soft, warm and sleepy smile made him that more appealing. Pepper began to chuckle. "Your hot body in Iron Man lingerie sounds really sexy." His grip on her hips started to loosen, meaning that he was about to fall asleep.

"C'mon, I think it's time for bed—"

"No-no-no, we should watch a movie first." He protested, motioning towards the couch.

She looked up at him and saw how eager he wanted to have that second date with her. He even moved towards the couch, tugging on her arm, telling her to join him. She walked behind him with his hand loosely wrapped around her wrist. He and Pepper both sat down on the couch. He reached behind the couch and pulled out a long navy blue blanket.

"Where did that come from?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at it.

"Behind the couch." He shrugged.

"Was it there the whole time?" She got up and looked behind the couch.

"You're acting as if I reached my hand into a black hole and pulled it out." He widened his smile. Pepper looked back at him with a puzzled look, "Relax, there's a compartment in the back of the couch."

Pepper saw a little tab sticking out at the top of the back of the couch. She pulled it forward and the compartment slowly slipped out, revealing blankets, a few pillows and pillow cases. She pushed it back in and shrugged.

"That's actually pretty convenient."

"So, what movie did you want to—oh, did you want some popcorn?" He unraveled the blanket.

"Popcorn doesn't sound appealing right now." She responded with a small sigh.

"Okay, what movie?" He asked, draping the blanket over their laps.

"Um, how about Meet the Robinsons?"

"Isn't that a little kid's movie?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"I think you'll like it. It's about the future, and technology." She added in, leaning towards his arm.

Tony shrugged and wrapped his arm around her, making her head rest against his chest. "Okay, JARVIS, project Meet the Robinsons in the living room, please."

"Acquiring the film. Processing data. Projecting film A5G2HB in section 2." JARVIS responded. Within seconds, the movie had started in the living room. It was being shown through Tony's big sixty inch television.

The couch gladly took Tony and Pepper's body in. It molded their form perfectly. Pepper bunched up some of the blanket and raised it higher over their bodies. With a contented sigh, they began to watch the movie.

Five minutes in, Tony began to think about what Greg and Natalie said. He looked down at the form that comfortably rested against his body. Her eyes were definitely fixated on the movie.

"Pepper." He began.

"Hm?" She hummed back and looked up at him.

"Do you think about the past?" He asked her, letting his mind wonder.

"What do you mean by that?" Pepper began to furrow her eyebrows.

"I mean, do you think about the 'what if's?"

"Like…?"

"Like, what if I hadn't taken over my father's legacy and just ended up as a bus boy in some fast food place? Burger king, for example." He gave her an example, making her wonder what his motives were.

"I still don't know what you're getting at, Tony." She turned her head to pay attention to the movie.

"What if I hadn't built all of those powerful and destructive weapons? What if I hadn't been captured and built the suits? Do you think the world would be in a better place? Do you think Stane would've still been a father figure to me? Do you think he would have never ended up betraying me? Would Hammer and Vanko ended up in a better place rather than jail… and well… you know." He looked down at her strawberry hair and lowered his hand to grip her hip. "If all of those things never happened, would you still have fallen in love with me?"

Pepper almost immediately tilted her head to look up at him. She stared into his eyes and saw all the hurt, the pain, and the curiosity. He had tried putting everything into what-if's. He had tried to silently ask her through a series of questions, but the last question was like a bomb to her. Pepper already knew what he was trying to ask.

"You're having second thoughts?" She worriedly asked.

_On our relationship, again?_ "On our—"

"Not on our relationship, Tony. I meant about your life." Bingo. Pepper won the first round.

"All of this destruction, and the power that every nation wants – I'm just wondering if things would be different if I hadn't built the weapons in the first place." He crooked the side of his mouth and slightly shrugged. "It was just a thought."

"No." She shook her head. "No, no. This isn't just a thought, Tony." Pepper studied his face longer. "You're not telling me something. Who did you talk to?"

"No one, Pepper. I was just wondering—"

"Tony." She breathed, and glanced back at the television. "Pause." The movie paused and so did Tony. She sat up, moved out of Tony's grasp and turned to face him. "Do you _really_ want to talk about this?"

"Pepper, I told you once before, I'm not good at talking about my feelings and-and what goes on in my head. It's _just_ not me." He heavily sighed.

"You brought it up, and we're not leaving this couch until you start finishing what you started."

"I'll just go to bed then—"

"If you go to bed, then this night doesn't count as a date, and I'm sleeping in the spare room." She looked up at him with a small serious frown.

Tony ran his hand through his hair and looked down at the navy blue blanket that was still draped over their laps. He saw her black frizzled dress cover her chest. They were so comfortable, he had actually forgotten that neither one of them changed into something less formal. His eyes trailed up from her chest to her face. His gaze locked with hers; those curious, gentle, and beautiful eyes stared at him, almost entering his brain, and gaining access to his thoughts, and his soul.

"Natalie said that you were in danger. Greg Leon got into my head. He said that if I had never built the weapons, the suits, and the advanced technology in general – you wouldn't be in constant danger; not you, not Rhodey, not Happy, not… not the whole world—I'm just… I'm…"

"Scared?" She asked softly. Tony eyes suddenly widened before relaxing; they wondered off.

"I'm… I'm just scared to lose you." He admitted; his eyes wondered back to hers.

She covered his hand with her own and squeezed gently.

"If I can't protect you—then I can't protect the world. And… And it scares me." He suddenly smiled. "It's pathetic to think that _Iron Man_ is scared."

"You're not pathetic, Tony." She widened her smile and scooted closer to him. "You're just human."

Pepper leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. Tony inched forward, making their lips crash against each other. He kissed her softly and let his hands wonder to her hips. Pepper moved forward and placed her hands around his neck, increasing the passionate kiss, but she leaned in a bit too much, making Tony fall backwards.

"AHH!" He hissed in pain. Pepper had already forgotten about his injuries.

"Are you okay?" She gasped, immediately getting off of him to rush to his aid.

"EVERY TIME!" He cursed, looking up at the ceiling. From then on, he referred to his back as the 'mood killer'.


	8. Chapter 8

He buried his head into the fabric and smelled the familiar fragrance. Tony fluttered his eyes open and saw the soft white cotton t-shirt rubbing against his nose. He widened his eyes, almost forgetting what had happened last night. A silent sigh of relief escaped his body when he felt the body next to him stir.

"Mm." Pepper groaned. The sun shined bright in her eyes at a displeasing time. She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. Once she caught the sight of his beautiful chocolate eyes, her began to form a small smile.

"Morning." He breathed, returning the smile. He had his arm still protectively wrapped around her waist and his other arm tucked under his pillow.

Pepper widened her smile and dug her face in the crook of his neck, and wrapped her arm around his chest. "Morning."

Tony smirked and squeezed her waist. "You okay?"

"Mm, just tired." She responded.

"You're usually not this affectionate in the morning." He began to rub circles in her hips.

"How's your shoulder?" She moved away from his neck but was still close enough for him to feel her breath tickle his jaw line.

"It's fine." He reassured her with a warm smile.

Pepper slid her arm out from under his and gently touched his shoulder. Tony flinched a bit, and began to hiss in pain but her touch was so warm, he soon felt relief.

"Sorry." She looked up from his shoulder and saw the hurt expression hidden behind his eyes.

"It's only been a few days, Pep." He reassured her. "It'll heal."

"I'm sorry about the other night." She apologized.

"Hm?" He hummed in confusion.

"Your back." She reminded him. Her blue eyes lit up and her light strawberry colored hair gracefully fell along her cheek.

"It only hurt for a few seconds." He looked away. Tony especially hated it when he had to admit his weakness. It was hard to do at first, but when he's alone with Pepper, it's a whole different story. Still, he hating admitting it but she seemed to squeeze it out of him anyways.

She angrily smiled at him. "You had trouble getting up for at least an hour."

"Pepper, you don't need to worry about me." He calmly told her.

"You may be wearing the pants in this relationship, but I control the zipper." She sternly told him.

"What?" Tony widened his eyes in confusion. "That didn't even make sense."

"My friend told it to me one day. It sounds silly, but it's correct in a literal sense." She widened her smile.

"I… guess." He thought about it for a few seconds. "But still, you shouldn't be worrying about me."

Pepper warmly smiled into his grey t-shirt and felt his hand pull her in close. "It's my job to worry about you, Tony."

He laid there and gently rubbed her back. He didn't think she would be this affectionate about something so small, unless…

Tony felt her head dig deeper into his chest. He rested his head on top of hers and carefully lifted the sheets over their bodies. He smiled heartedly into her vanilla scented hair and closed his eyes.

"Are you on your period?" He bluntly asked, ruining the romantic mood.

Within seconds, Pepper angrily pushed him away. "Wow, Tony." She sat up and immediately got off the bed to put on her slippers. "You're such a jerk sometimes."

"I take it you are." He sat up as well, grinning sweetly.

She turned her head and angrily looked at him. "You're so—"

Tony sat there with the sheets covering his red colored boxers. The smile he was showcasing immediately stopped her. How could she yell at him with that annoying, yet adorable, smirk on his face?

"So…?" He asked.

"I'm working today." She sternly told him. Pepper moved towards the closet and began to pick out her clothes for the day. It was habit and instinct to move a third of her wardrobe into his house. It was meant for just-in-case purposes but lately, she become more and more willing to stay over.

"It's Saturday." His eyes followed her every move.

"It doesn't hurt to get some work done."

"I thought we were going to spend some time together today." He tried to sound gloomy.

She turned her head and glared at him. "After what just happened, I'm beginning to rethink today's plans."

"Oh, c'mon, Pepper." He whined. "It was only a question, and clearly you are… so—"

"I never said I was." She walked over to the drawers and pulled out a white colored bra and panties. She threw them on top of her outfit that was laid out on the bed.

"But you didn't answer me when I asked you. A simple no would've done it, but you avoided the question by calling me a jerk. And now you're planning on working today." He drew his legs out from under the sheets and stood up, and off the bed.

"So, what if I am? Mission accomplished. You're now an ass for the day." She dramatically declared, resting her hands on her hip.

"That's usually declared by Rhodey, but I guess you can have the privilege as well." He walked over to his closet and began to pick out a few clothes.

Pepper rolled her eyes and proceeded to change into her outfit. It was a simple blouse and jeans type of day. It wasn't necessarily a work day, so it didn't seem fit for her to have to wear the usually business attire.

"Are you going to be working in your workshop tonight?" She asked, taking off her short shorts and pulling on a pair of jeans.

"I'm actually going to see Rhodey today."

"What for?" Pepper instinctively asked.

"The usual suit upgrades and stuff." He replied, taking off his t-shirt and pulling on a polo shirt.

In a matter of minutes, Pepper had changed into her outfit, and as she walked over to the bathroom, Tony gently tugged on her wrist. She spun around in confusion and saw his apologetic frown.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier." He apologized. "But, just to be sure, you _are_ on your period, yes?"

If he was any other guy, she probably would've hit the socks off him, but just hearing Tony apologize was surprising enough.

Pepper warmly smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Want to know how I knew?" He slyly grinned.

"Not really."

"You're not usually that affectionate in the morning." He repeated, widening his grin.

"How observant of you." She felt annoyed.

"It's still new for me." He admitted. Pepper's mouth slowly gapped in realization; she knew what he meant before he even said it. "I'm still getting used to the idea of waking up next to a woman and _not_ running away."

"If you did," She smiled. "You wouldn't have anyone to show me out."

"I'm sure Dummy could." Tony joked.

"Mm, sure." She challenged him.

"It gets kind of lonely when you're not here."

"What happened to JARVIS?" Pepper began to blush bright red.

"It's just not the same without you. It always feels like something's missing." He widened his smile.

Pepper walked up to him and gently worked at the buttons of his polo shirt. He looked down at purposefully watched her button up his shirt. Once she reached the last button, leaving a few at the top unfastened, she looked up and leaned forward. She kissed him quickly on the lips.

"Be careful today, okay?"

He warmly grinned down at her and mindlessly rested his hands on her lower back. "Does this mean we're going out later tonight?"

Pepper started to chuckle. "You're lucky I find you adorable."

"Or, I'm just lucky to have you."

"What would you do without me?" She sarcastically asked him, giggling and, pulling away from him.

"I'll pick you up at five tonight, okay?" He asked her. He turned around to go into his closet and pick out a pair of shoes.

"Five sounds good." Pepper walked into the bathroom and took out her make-up bag from underneath the sink.

"Are you really going to work today?"

"What else is there to do?"

"You could just relax for the day. It's not like one day of no work will kill anyone." He suggested.

"You obviously haven't been watching the news."

"That's what I have you for, right? To watch the news and inform me of anything important." Tony took his shoes to the edge of the bed. He sat down and began to slip his shoes on.

Pepper popped her head out to glare at him but saw his hunched over form instead. Tony finished slipping on the last shoe and saw a pair of purple fuzzy slippers approach him. She stood between his legs and glared down at him. Tony widened his smile and looked up. Habits took over him. He mindlessly held her waist with his hands and pulled her closer.

"You _really _think my job is to tell you important news?"

He smirked. "I was just joking, Peps. I know what your job is. It's to satisfy me in any way possible."

"Now you're just asking for it." She angrily grumbled.

Tony chuckled and dug his face into her stomach. Pepper stood there, carefully playing with the hair on his neck. They stayed there for a few minutes until pulled away to look up at her. He admired her black colored blouse before smiling warmly.

"I like mornings like these. Just us without a care in the world. Nothing to interrupt our—"

"Rhodey is on line one, Sir." JARVIS announced suddenly.

"I spoke too soon." Tony grumbled. Pepper smirked and grabbed his hands that were still resting on her waist. She pulled them off.

"You better answer him or else he'll end up forcing his call through JARVIS' intercom system. You remember last time, right?" She reminded him.

"He interrupted our make-out session, how could I not?" He pouted.

"I'll only be a call away." She reassured him.

"You could always come with me—"

"I'm aiming to get some work done today, Tony." She interrupted him.

He stood up and slightly nodded. "If you need anything while I'm out, just call, okay?"

"Yup." She began to walk back to the bathroom.

Tony watched her every move. He watched her hips sway back and forth before disappearing into the bathroom. He literally wanted to stay in and just hold her all day. But JARVIS kept on reminding him of Rhodey's call.

"Sir, Rhodey insists that you pick up the phone." JARVIS told him.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Tony grumbled, walking out of his bedroom and towards the workshop. He walked down the stairs, entered his access code and headed towards his desk.

"Answer line one." Tony announced. Rhodey suddenly appeared on all monitors.

"Hey, man. What took you so long?" He immediately asked.

"It's a Saturday and Pepper slept over, Rhodey. What do you think I was doing?" Tony sat down at his desk and leaned back in his chair.

"That's…" Rhodey flashed an unpleasant expression.

"Hey, so we're going to meet at the coffee shop, right?"

"I guess so. We don't really meet anywhere else."

"Let me say good-bye to Pepper and I'll meet you there." Tony got up from his seat and started walking towards the glass door.

"So, what'd you tell her?"

"Hm?" Tony turned around.

"Are you going shopping? Are you taking public transportation for the hell of it?" Rhodey started guessing.

"I told her I was making upgrades to your suit." Tony responded.

"Oh." Rhodey frowned. "You couldn't think of anything _better_ to tell her?"

"Rhodey, we're two grown men meeting at a coffee shop to talk about stuff. I feel bad enough for lying to her in the first place, now you want me to lie to her even more but use the most awesome excuse known to man?" Tony rolled his eyes.

Rhodey mentally took a step back. "Since when did you get so serious about this stuff? You used to lie to Pepper all the time."

"It's different now." Tony told him. "Lying to Pepper means consequences."

"And before, it didn't?" Rhodey smirked.

Tony didn't know what to think. Before he and Pepper were together, he'd lie to her on a daily basis. Now, they're a couple, and lying to Pepper isn't as easy anymore. He enjoyed making her happy, making her smile, and holding her whenever they were alone. He honestly felt happy with his life knowing that Pepper was there by his side. But he wasn't _as _happy during the ten years of their employee relationship.

"I don't know. I just don't want to upset her." Tony shrugged the question off. "I'll see you in ten minutes."

"Ten?" Rhodey widened his eyes. "You realize it takes thirty minutes to get there, plus traffic—"

"For you it takes thirty minutes. For me, it takes ten." Tony widened his smile.

"How do you _not_ get tickets?" Rhodey wondered. He honestly had no idea how cops have never caught him speeding on the freeway.

—Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony—

Rhodey walked into the coffee shop with his car keys in his hand. He tucked them in his pocket before walking towards the back of the shop. He stopped at the last booth and slid in. He sat there, looking at Tony, waiting for him to say something. A waiter came by and asked if they wanted anything but Rhodey waved him away.

"So, what's up?" Rhodey asked Tony. Tony shrugged, looking down at his palms that rested on the table in front of him.

"How's the suit?" Tony glanced up at him.

"It's amazing." Rhodey smiled and heavily breathed. "I really think I could do some good with it. I mean, I haven't been on a mission yet, but I really think it has potential."

"Senator Stern still wants the technology." Tony hinted it to him.

"I know." Rhodey reassured him. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Tony sat up straight to act as if he were paying attention. "Stern has been meaning to get the technology under U.S Jurisdiction but thanks to Fury, he can't."

"What?" Tony widened his eyes. "Fury is… protecting the suits?"

Rhodey shrugged. "I only heard that someone was blocking all attempts to take the suits and the technology from you."

"So… it might _not_ be Fury?"

"Does it matter?" Rhodey saw Tony glare at him. "Well, of course it matters, but does it really matter who's doing what? You should be happy that your technology is safe."

"Mm." Tony hummed. There's a small chance it wasn't Fury, and if it wasn't, then who? _Who…?_

"So, how are you and Pepper?" Rhodey managed to change the subject.

"We're good." Tony nodded. "Nothing major has happened in the last few days."

"How did the movie date go?"

"It went well, aside from the unmentionable incident with my back." Tony mumbled.

"What about your back?"

"Did I not just say it was unmentionable?"

"You mentioned it." Rhodey spat back.

"You didn't have to ask about it." Tony countered.

"Well, you mentioned it, so I'm asking about it." Rhodey became increasingly annoyed.

Tony gave up. He'd eventually ask him a billion times through all sorts of communication devices. "Pepper and I were talking, and then we were kissing… but she leaned in a little too much and…" Tony made a gesture with his hands and eventually Rhodey got the gist of it.

Rhodey ended up burst out in laughter. "She—I can't believe Pepper hurt your back."

Tony rolled his eyes and waited for him to stop laughing.

"Of all the ways to hurt someone's back. Haha, that's priceless."

"Anyways…" Tony began. "…Pepper and I were thinking about going on a double date with you and… whoever."

"Whoa, whoa, why a double date—and why with me?" Rhodey pointed to himself and furrowed his eyebrows.

"It would be weird if we had a double date with Happy, and it would certainly be even weirder if we had a double date with one of Pepper's 'guy friends', so I picked you." Tony explained with a small smile.

"And what sort of things do you wish to accomplish during this double date?" Rhodey grew suspicious.

"Are you implying that you can't get a date?" Tony slyly smiled at him.

"What?" Rhodey shook his head. "Now, that's taking things completely out of context."

"Well, then, what do you say?"

"I'll think about it." Rhodey rolled his eyes at him. "A double date is the least of my worries, right now."

"Trouble in paradise?" Tony raised his eyebrow.

"Nothing _you_ should be concerned about."

"Mind if I cut in?" Someone said. The figure was standing in front of their booth.

Tony looked up at her and began to groan. _Crap…_ "Natalie." He breathed.

"Natalie? Isn't that the SHEILD agent, Natasha?" Rhodey quietly asked Tony.

"I honestly don't know _what to call her_, so I just went with the first name she gave me." Tony shrugged.

Natalie forced herself in the booth and scooted in next to Rhodey. Rhodey scooted in further nearest to the window. He didn't really know Natalie. She was an acquaintance of his but noticeably friendly with Tony. On the other hand, Tony looked equally pissed at her for interrupting their ongoing conversation.

"Is there a reason why you're _physically_ here?" Tony asked her with an annoyed look. "I mean, you could've called."

"I was in the neighborhood." Natalie quickly responded. "Listen, something happened. Leon Industries was attacked last night."

Rhodey widened his eyes but Tony sat there, clearly not amused.

"So?" He crossed his arms across his chest.

"Wait, how come it wasn't on the news?" Rhodey immediately asked her.

"SHEILD is assessing the situation even as we speak." Natalie answered. "Fury wanted me to inform you about it."

"Again, _someone_ could've called."

"No." Natalie shook her head. "It would've been too risky. Tony, _he's_ here."

Tony's ears perked up. He widened his eyes and leaned forward in shock. "What?"

"Wait, who's _he_?" Rhodey glanced at the both of them, clearly confused.

"He attacked Leon Industries last night? Did he take anything?" Tony asked her.

"It didn't look like he took anything. If anything, it would've been the technology but we couldn't gain access to Leon's personal files."

"You guys aren't answering me…" Rhodey groaned.

"I think you should keep a close watch on Pepper for a while. If he's trying to get to you, Tony, he'll try to get to Pepper first."

"Will you please tell me who in the hell you're talking about—"

"Rhodey," Tony began. He angrily glanced up at him. "_This_ is the guy that's mass producing my stolen weapons."

"And now he has Leon Industries' technology…" Rhodey whispered to himself.

"Maybe." Natalie glanced at Rhodey and then at Tony. "We're not sure yet. We don't know what kind of hacking capabilities this guy has."

"It could've been another double." Tony heavily sighed and felt increasingly frustrated.

"Double?" Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows. "That doesn't sound good."

"It isn't." Tony shook his head. "Whoever attacked Leon Industries obviously wanted something. And also, Leon Industries was supposed to launch their latest weaponry next month. The date was announced at the Charity Ball."

"Do you think whoever attacked Leon Industries was at the Charity Ball?" Natalie asked.

"Maybe." Tony shrugged.

"But if he was at the Charity Ball, then that means he's been keeping tabs on you and Pepper." Rhodey glanced at Tony.

"If he was _really _there, he could've taken Pepper at any moment without me realizing it." Tony looked really frustrated. His enemy could've honestly taken Pepper—he could've killed her. He could've done unimaginable things to her but he didn't… why? Why is he trying _so _hard to run circles around everybody? _It doesn't make any sense!_

**A/N: Anyone confused? Because I am :S. Reviews are always welcome :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Tony walked through the front door of his mansion with a heavy sigh. Too many thoughts were running through his head. _Is Pepper going to be safe? 'He' isn't a very good name for a villain… got to think of a good name. Why does Natalie always have to interrupt my 'me' time. Why did 'he' attack Leon Industries… their weaponry isn't even that amazing. What's the purpose of all of this… besides dominating the world?_

He shut the door behind him as his thoughts finally settled in his head. _I'll think about everything later and look into the attack. JARVIS will have to put everything aside for today._ Tony walked towards the living room and heard the clicks and ticks of a particular someone typing away on her laptop. He widened his smile when he silently stood behind her, admiring how dedicated she was to her work and how focused she could get.

She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black blouse with her hair tied up into a pony tail. She looked absolutely gorgeous—well, she always looked adorable in his eyes.

Tony draped his jacket over the couch, right next to her body. Pepper jumped with a small shriek and was about to purposefully injure the person but she whipped her head around and saw it was only Tony.

"Jeeze, Tony, you don't have to sneak up on me like that." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I had to get you to stop working somehow." He widened his smile and walked around the couch to sit next to her.

Pepper rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to get back to work.

"What are you working on?" Tony looked over her shoulder.

She felt his warm breath tickle the side of her neck.

"I'm writing a formal apology to Leon Industries—"

"What?" Tony cut her off and began to widen his eyes. He turned his head to look at her and she glanced back at him. _Does she… know?_

"Leon Industries wanted to have a meeting this Tuesday but we are already meeting with R&D to discuss the budget." Pepper explained.

Tony almost let a big sigh of relief escape his lips. "Oh." He began to furrow his eyebrows. "Wait—we have a budget?"

"If you don't want to be bankrupt in a few years to a decade, then yes, we have a budget." Pepper returned a small smile and continued to type away.

"I'm a billionaire, Peps." He rested his head against her shoulder and returned the smile. "Screw the budget. Let R&D run free in the wild where they'll be eaten by Senator Stern lions." He sarcastically added.

"Poking fun of a man that almost took your suits, Mr. Stark?"

"Always." He smirked.

"I thought you were going to pick me up at five." She added in, still typing.

"The visit ran short." Tony quickly explained, taking his head off her shoulder and sitting up straight, but still sitting close to her.

"So, what was the damage?" She simply asked.

Tony was still thinking about the attack at Leon Industries. "What?" He turned his head in shock. _She knows!_

"Um… Well, I don't know. Nat—"

"I thought you went over to Rhodey's to upgrade his suit." Pepper reminded him. She turned her head to face him and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Oh." Tony looked away, hoping she didn't get the last bit before she interrupted him. "Rhodey's suit was just lacking efficient… um… upgrades. I tweak my suit every week and he was just complaining." He lied, quipped with a small fake smile.

"That's odd."

"Huh?" Tony widened his eyes again. _Oh crap, she caught—_

"You're not usually that nice about upgrading his suit." She finished.

"Oh… well…" Tony stammered. "He would've bothered me about it for weeks if I didn't… so…" This time, he looked away as if dazzled by something else. After a few seconds, his eyes trailed back down to her laptop. She was typing away; her delicate, slender, and soft fingers were rapidly hitting keys. He loved every inch of her soft skin. Sometimes, he just wanted to take her hands and make them cup his face. His lips began to form a small smile.

"Is something wrong?" Pepper asked. Tony didn't even notice that she had stopped typing for a full few seconds. He looked up at her with that small smile.

"Nope." He simply responded. "Why would you think something's wrong?"

"I don't know…" She shrugged. "…But you do know, if something's bothering you, you can always tell me, right?"

"I know, Pep." He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "I know." He whispered into her ear. Pepper began to widen her smile, and as the warm feeling spread throughout her body, she leaned against his chest. Out of sheer habit, he wrapped arm around her shoulder and gently rubbed it. Both of them were smiling and simply enjoying their time together.

—Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony—

Tony walked downstairs and towards his workshop. He stopped at the glass door and heavily sighed. As much as it pained to kill him, he had to leave Pepper so he could figure out the recent attack on Leon Industries. He punched in his access code and opened the glass door.

"Welcome back, Sir. Would you like me to read you today's news?" JARVIS suddenly asked him as Tony entered his workshop.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Since when did you start offering to read the news, JARVIS?" He walked towards his desk.

"In response to this morning's argument, Ms. Potts has ordered me to add that to the list of daily requests." JARVIS explained.

Tony sat down in his chair. "Hm, guess I took that a little too far." He snapped his fingers three times, once at each monitor. "C'mon, wake up boys. Daddy needs everyone to be at their optimum speed for…" He looked down at his watch. "…three hours."

The monitors suddenly lit up and started analyzing current events, daily performance ratings, the stock market, etc.

"Would you like to know what the stock market value on Stark Industries is, Sir?"

"Um… no. You can actually tell that to Pepper." Tony looked at each of the monitors.

"Ms. Potts was notified this morning after you left, Sir. Would you like to—"

"JARVIS, I think today I'd like to investigate more on the attack on Leon Industries." Tony leaned back in his chair with his elbow resting on the arm rest and his hand gently rubbing his goatee.

"Of course, Sir." JARVIS announced.

"Do you think you could pull up the feeds from the security cameras from last night? Approximate time frame should be between 8PM and 2AM." Tony rubbed circles into his forehead in deep thought. Each monitor was sliced into nine equal parts, each showing one security camera feed.

"Pulling up security camera feeds from said time frame. This may take several minutes." JARVIS announced.

"Um, JARVIS. Do you think you could keep this a secret between boy and his machine? I _really_ don't want Pepper to know about this." Tony spoke up.

"Of course, Sir." The AI responded. "The first few feeds should be appearing."

Tony leaned forward and glared at the feeds. The first feed from 8PM showed employees clocking out, one by one. Suddenly, more feeds started popping up and Tony examined all of them.

"I count… at least twenty security guards. What about you JARVIS?" He asked his AI.

"My results are the same."

Tony rubbed his chin and heavily sighed. "Fast forward to 8:30PM."

The feeds suddenly buzzed through until it hit the 8:30PM mark. The security guards were sitting at their posts. Some of them were conversing with each other. Everything was pretty normal.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, yet." Tony observed aloud. "This could take a while…"

"Would you like me to fast forward to a different time frame, Sir?"

"Fast forward it but keep it at… Mmm," He thought for a second. "…Twenty-five times regular speed."

"Will do sir."

Nothing happened out of the ordinary. Tony sat there at his desk and leaned back in a somewhat lazy position. He crossed his arms across his chest and observed each feed one by one. His eyes mimicked patterns across the screen. After a few minutes, he began to think of something else entirely, but his eyes still scanned each screen. He thought about the time he and Pepper decided to barbeque some teriyaki marinated chicken breasts. He began to smile, zooming to the memory of declaring himself as the man of the house, therefore, being the one that had to cook the chicken. It didn't go so well. He ended up burning two and setting three on fire. He panicked and didn't know what to do, so he ran back inside the house and immediately called for Pepper. Pepper was in the kitchen cooking some steamed vegetables and preparing the rice cooker. When she heard him shriek her name, she rolled her eyes and lazily walked towards the doors that led to the backyard. When she saw the three chickens that some how were on the grass _and on fire_, she couldn't help but laugh.

"_Pepper, I'm pretty sure these are one of these moments when we look back and laugh our butts off, but that moment won't exist—actually the house won't exist because THE CHICKENS ARE CATCHING THE GRASS ON FIRE!_" _Tony exclaimed._

Pepper eventually grabbed the fire extinguisher from inside and doused the chicken with its contents. Of course, she still laughed even after seeing the aftermath the three flaming chicken left. She laughed even harder when she saw the three small black burnt grass circles the size of watermelons.

They ended up keeping the vegetables and rice, and ordering pre-cooked and season chicken from Boston Market.

Tony smirked, thinking about how much fun they had. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Every little detail in his life involved Pepper somehow but he loved it. He liked it when she stayed over and when she'd cook _absolutely_ orgasmic food. He wanted her to stay with him, heck – half of her wardrobe is in his closet, so why not? It wasn't like he was asking her to marry him—oh boy, that question wouldn't come up for a while. It was only a simple question about moving from one place to another, right?

The more Tony thought about it, the more time passed. He gazed up at the monitors and noticed that the feeds had already reached midnight.

Everything was still normal. Tony furrowed his eyebrows and sighed again. "If _she_ lied to me, I swear to god, I'll—" Suddenly, all of the feeds went fuzzy, obscuring every single visible area. Tony sat up in confusion. _That's weird…_ "JARVIS, I didn't say you could stop the feeds."

"I did not stop them, Sir. They'll still running."

"What the…" He sat up and rolled his chair forward. "What's the approximate time when all of the security cameras go berserk?"

"Scanning… Analyzing… The approximate time frame is at 12:04 AM at thirty two point five six one seconds." The AI announced.

"Rewind back to midnight."

The feeds zoomed back to midnight and everything seemed normal. Tony sat up straight and observed every second of the feeds. He narrowed his eyes at each monitor on confusion. When the feeds hit 12:03AM, all of the guards turned their heads in different directions.

"Pause." Tony abruptly said. All of the feeds paused and at the same time, all of the guards were tilting their heads to the side and looking in different directions. "Do you see that, JARVIS?"

"Yes, it seems like the guards were alerted via communication devices."

Tony pointed to one camera feed. "If they were all alerted, that means one feed has to be the starting point." He looked at all of the cameras in search for the odd ball. "Slowly fast forward all of the feeds."

As JARVIS slowly fast forwarded every feed, Tony observed all of the guards rushing in every which direction. He searched for the specific feed and after a few minutes, he found it.

"There!" He exclaimed before pointing at it with his index finger. "JARVIS, focus on the bottom left hand corner on the second monitor. Rewind it to a few seconds before all of the feeds die out."

"Rewinding…"

"Stop. Right there!" Tony pointed with his index finger again. The feed had shown half of a body that wore dark clothing in the bottom right hand corner. The security cameras are too out of focus to correctly observe the single figure. "Is there any way to focus on that figure?"

"Yes, but it will take some time to properly focus it." JARVIS responded.

He pointed to the specific feed and then pointed at the dark figure. "If this is the guy who attacked from the inside, then who cut the feeds?"

"What are you suggesting?" JARVIS asked.

"More than one person was in on this operation. There's no way this guy could attack Leon Industries from the inside and cut the feeds at the same time." He observed.

"Have you thought about a remote detonation?"

"I thought about it but I highly doubt it. If he had a remote detonator, he would've cut the feeds way before he entered the range of the security cameras. Either that or this guy is really sloppy." He supported his elbow with his hand and leaned into the other palm in deep thought. "What time is it?"

"The time is 4:31PM."

"Shit, I'm supposed to get ready by 5PM." He began to rub his forehead with his fingers in frustration. "Um… send the feed to Fury. Tell him to focus it on the bottom right hand corner and then tell him to send it to Captain America for further analysis. Also, tell them about my observations."

"Of course, Sir."

He quickly stood up and walked towards the door. "Keep all information regarding the attack in my personal and private servers. If anything urgent comes up regarding relevant suspicious activity, notify me at the appropriate times."

He reached for the glass door's handle. "And when are the appropriate times, Sir?"

"When Pepper isn't present." He looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "If Pepper hears about the attack from you, I swear to god, I will scrub your motherboard with Victoria Secret perfume."

"Duly noted, Sir."

"Good." Tony opened the door with a small smile on his face. "Oh, and what do you recommend, tuxedo or casual?"

"Casual, Sir."

Tony widened his grin and nodded. "Good choice, JARVIS."

**A/N: Short chapter. I've got midterms next week, so I won't gauarantee anything in the next few days. Reviews keep me distracted (although, that's not a good thing, lol) and distraction means typing, and typing means fluff and stuff! ALSO, I bought a Stark Industries decal online :]. They're stickers (kind of like bumper stickers), that you put on your laptop. I could've chosen hot pink, gold, or red but I liked white because my Alienware is pitch black. The Stark Industries will stand out under the glowing alien head ;). I think I'll buy more (they were only a dollar!) and stick them everywhere. I should ask if they could do a Robert Downey Jr one. I also bought a neon yellow t-shirt that says Team Robert Downey Jr on the back. I actually have that on five t-shirts and a sweater… my parents do not know about this. Good-night everyone! TGIF!**


	10. Chapter 10

Tony walked down the stairs with his tie draped around his neck. He looked down at his tie and began to look at both ends. He took a shower and trimmed his goatee in a matter of thirty minutes, which is surprising considering his reputation for taking his time in the shower and resisting getting ready on time. Pepper stood near the counter with her back turned to him. She wore the same black blouse she had been wearing throughout the day—actually, she didn't change her clothes, but she did remove her hair tie and let her hair breath on her shoulders.

Pepper turned around when she heard someone walk down the stairs. She saw Tony look down at the black colored tie in confusion. Pepper walked over to him with a wide smile on her face.

He knew she was approaching him, but his fixation on his tie kept him from looking up. Pepper saw that he was about to ask her to tie it for him but she reached up and grabbed his hands that were attached to the tie.

"Pepper—"

"Take off the tie." She told him. Tony stood there, staring blankly at her.

"But—"

"Tony, this is just dinner. It's not supposed to be formal." She began to laugh.

He looked at her attire and then at his. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black formal pants. "But… I want to look good for you."

Pepper smirked and slowly removed the tie from around his neck; their hands were still connected, firmly holding the tie between their bodies. She widened her smile and pulled the tie from his grasp.

"I'll go put this away." She began to walk upstairs.

Tony watched her walk up to his room. He silently sighed and began to grin. He couldn't get her out of his head. He loved every single bit of her; her personality, the way she always took care of him—but what did he do for her? Yeah, okay, a 'coffee date' and a movie night… and a few things he wasn't telling her. But it was for a good cause—it was to protect her, right? Tony thought about the trouble with his stolen weaponry and the attack on Leon Industries. He closed his eyes, trying to get the damn thoughts off his mind. A slight buzz from his cell phone in his pocket did just that. He took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

'Romanoff: Tony, do you have a minute?'

Tony glared at the text message and angrily replied back, 'NO'. He sent the message and heard foot steps approaching him from the stairs. He quickly tucked away his cell phone and glanced up at Pepper.

"Ready?" Pepper asked him with a small smile.

He nodded and grabbed her coat from the couch. "Yup." He opened the door for his girlfriend and with a wide smile, he put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the car.

He opened the door for her and let her climb in before he ran around the car to open the driver side door. He climbed in as well and began to search for his keys. He furrowed his eyebrows and checked every pocket.

"Uh…" He began to panic. Tony glanced over at Pepper and saw her smirk.

"Forget something?" She raised an eyebrow.

Tony's lips formed a quick smile. "I'll be right back." He opened the door and leaped out of the car. He quickly rushed to the front door and unlocked it. The door swung open and he quickly looked around for his keys.

"Keys… keys… keys…keys…" Tony looked around the couch and in the kitchen. He stood in the middle of the living room and scratched the back of his head. He could've sworn he put his keys inside his pockets after he slipped on his pair of pants.

"Looking for these?"

Tony swiftly turned around and saw Natalie leaning against the wall nearest to the staircase with his car keys dangling on her index finger. He rolled his eyes and walked towards her.

"What the hell are you doing here—how did you even get in?" He tried to snatch the keys from her hand but she quickly retracted her arm.

"JARVIS let me in."

"Why the heck—" Tony looked up. "JARVIS, what's you with letting women control you like that?"

"My apologies, Sir." JARVIS quickly apologized. "Ms. Romanoff is an ally, so I assumed—"

Tony waved his explanation off. "Give me my keys."

"I need to talk to you about something." She insisted.

"Pepper and I are supposed to go out to dinner together. Can't this wait?" Tony heavily sighed.

"Aren't you worried about her safety?" Natalie narrowed her eyes at him. She wasn't in a business suit, or a skirt and blouse. She was in her Black Widow outfit. No doubt, she was probably sneaking around and obeying Fury's orders.

"Of course I am." Tony angrily grumbled. "You can't expect me to lock her up in here and tell her that the world is after her. She _doesn't_ know about the guy who's trying to screw me over and she _certainly_ doesn't know about this whole entire shit storm that's running its course on everyone's lives." He practically yelled at her. He was actually surprised that Pepper didn't come running in from the front door in confusion.

"I'm glad that Pepper doesn't know but I really need to talk to you about something."

"Tell me when I get back." Tony angrily grounded out. He held his hand out in front of her, waiting for her to give him his car keys. Natalie pressed her lips together and slipped them into his palm. Without even saying a word, he turned around and walked towards the front door.

Natalie stood there and watched as he exited his house.

Tony arrived at his car and angrily climbed back in. Pepper was sitting in the passenger seat with her Blackberry in her hands. She glanced over at him and noticed his silent frown.

"Everything okay?" Pepper quietly asked, noticing how forcefully Tony inserted his car keys into the slot.

"Yeah." He mumbled, turning the key, making the engine roar.

"Did something happen?" She lowered her Blackberry in worry.

Tony sat there with the engine running and began to think. He stared out the front of the window and abruptly turned the car off. He glanced over at Pepper and wrapped his hand around hers. He gently squeezed her hand and smiled, but soon, the smile disappeared. He turned his head and locked gazes with her.

"Pepper…" He began.

"Hm?" She hummed, squeezing his hand.

"…I…Do you trust me?" He suddenly asked.

She stared at him blankly. "Of course I do."

"If I tell you to run, I want you to run _and_ never look back." He told her.

"O-okay—but Tony, what is this about?" She asked curiously. He let go of her hand and immediately turned on the engine.

"If we don't leave soon, they'll probably give away our table." Tony responded, completely changing the subject.

"Tony…" She pressed her lips together. "Wait, are we eating at a public restaurant?"

"Yup." He nodded.

"But the press and-and the people—"

"I bought out the whole restaurant and made sure that the workers won't tell anybody." He told her.

Pepper's mouth gapped, closed, and gapped again. She was glad they were going out to dinner but he didn't necessarily have to buy out the whole restaurant just because they didn't want to go public yet. She appreciated what he was doing for her sake and for the sake of their relationship… but it didn't feel right. It felt like they were dancing around the press, taunting them with chocolate and candy.

The dinner was perfect—well, almost perfect. Tony brought Pepper to her favorite Italian restaurant. The three story building was beautifully lit and had vases of roses sitting everywhere. They ate on the third story where the beautiful view could be admired. Pepper talked about her day and Tony talked about Rhodey. He tried his best to steer her away from asking what he said in the car. Whenever she tried to get it out of him, he quickly complimented her on her looks but there were only so many things he could say about how charming she looked. He didn't realize it but he told her she looked gorgeous three times… in a row.

As the dinner was savored and the night ended, Tony and Pepper drove back to the house to enjoy each other's company. It was a successful night. There was only one waiter and two cooks. Tony seemed to have the situation under control… or he paid the restaurant twice the bill to keep them from talking to the press or the tabloids.

Tony got out of his car and quickly ran around to open the car door for Pepper. As she climbed out, he widened his smile. Once he closed the car door and locked it with his keys, she grabbed him by the lapels of his dress shirt and pushed him against his Audi. Tony widened his eyes in shock as he felt Pepper's thigh rub against his groin. She glanced down at his lips and slowly leaned in. He relaxed under her body and wrapped his hands around her waist. Her lips brushed against hers.

He tasted her cherry flavored lip gloss as it blossomed in his mouth. A moan echoed in the back of his throat as Pepper kissed him with more passion. She pulled away with a wide smile and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Tony tightened his grip on her held her close, gasping for oxygen.

"Couldn't wait until we got inside?" Tony whispered in her ear with a wide smile.

"You were taking too long." She joked, laughing.

"Sorry to interrupt." A voice behind them said.

Tony looked up and rolled his eyes in displeasure. Pepper turned around to look at the figure behind them and saw Natalie standing there in her Black Widow outfit.

"Natasha." She breathed.

"Her name is Natalie." Tony told the woman he held in his arms. "It's the first name she told us, so we might as well stick with it."

"That was her cover name, Tony." Pepper rolled her eyes.

"I need to speak with Mr. Stark about something, if that's okay with you, Pepper."

"It isn't." Tony snapped.

"It's fine." Pepper calmly said. She quickly kissed Tony on the lips and slipped away from his grasp. "I'll be inside."

Tony heavily sighed and watched as his date walked towards the house. Natalie walked towards him with her arms across her chest. He angrily looked at her. "You couldn't have waited until tomorrow morning?"

"Fury wanted me to inform you as soon as possible. You're lucky I didn't incinerate your keys to make you stay and _listen to me_." She snapped at him.

He rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the house. "Pepper and I were trying to have a romantic evening, but now you're here with your stupid information, and your stupid costume." He gestured towards her outfit.

"Why are you so angry, Tony?"

"I'm angry because you guys keep interrupting whatever we have planned." He spat at her.

"No." Natalie denied his explanation. "You're not angry about that."

"OKAY!" Tony turned around and shouted at her. "I'm angry because I can't catch this stupid guy. I'm angry because I feel like I'm killing Pepper. I'm angry because I can't seem to control my own weaponry. I'm angry because my wounds are still healing and there's not a damn thing I can do right now! I'm angry because _I love Pepper_. I LOVE HER! But wait—oh wait" He faked a laugh. "Here's the funny thing. Every time I want to tell her _I love her_, I ditch it. I completely ditch the idea." He heavily sighed and closed his eyes.

"You done?" Natalie asked him.

"Yeah." Tony nodded.

"Feel better?"

"Yup." He breathed. "A lot better."

"Good, because we still need to talk about something _very_ important."

"And that important thing is…?"

"Greg Leon disappeared."

**A/N: Short chapter. I had two weeks of midterms and this weekend, I said eff you to the world and relaxed by typing this chapter and playing some call of duty. Night everyone!**


	11. Chapter 11

"What?" Tony widened his eyes at Natalie.

Natalie pressed her lips together. "His secretary called the police a few hours ago and reported a missing persons report."

He shifted his eyes from her face to the gravel beneath his feet. "W-wha-what does—"

"His secretary called Leon's wife asking if he was feeling okay. Apparently, the wife thought he was staying over at the building to clean up some of the mess the attacker left. The secretary said he had left for home two days ago. Leon never called in or returned. They're both assuming he was kidnapped."

"But what does it mean?" Tony asked again.

"Fury is assuming that the attacker kidnapped him for further information about the technology the attacker stole." Natalie informed him.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath. He rubbed both of his eyes with his hands in frustration and exhaustion.

Natalie examined his worried expression and pressed her lips together. "Fury wanted us to spend the rest of the night hacking into Leon Industries' terminals and system. If we find out what the attacker took, assuming JARVIS can get us in, then we can figure out the reason behind Leon's assumed kidnapping."

Tony nodded and retracted his hands from his face. "I'll inform JARVIS and hopefully—"

"We'll do this later." Natalie interrupted him.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her. "What?"

"I can tell how _excited_ you were about tonight and… I'd hate to ruin the mood."

"Thanks… I think." Tony said with a confused tone.

"Just behave like mature adults and don't do anything stupid." Natalie told him before slowly walking backwards.

"Thanks, Natalie." His lips formed a sincere smile.

"Tell Pepper I said good-night." Natalie walked towards her car that was parked in the woods. Her car raced off, leaving Tony standing in the drive way. He smirked to himself before walking towards the front door of his house.

_Finally, some alone time with Pepper._

He opened the door to his house and saw Pepper reaching for a glass in the cabinets in the kitchen. Tony closed the door behind him and strode towards his girlfriend. He was about to surprise her with a hug from behind but—

"Sir, would you like me to begin diagnostics on the upgrades you've recently been working on?" JARVIS asked.

Once Pepper turned around and ruined his surprise attack, Tony rolled his eyes at the ceiling and heavily sighed.

"Always got to be the party pooper, huh, JARVIS?" He looked up, resting his hands on his waist.

"You realize, if you had snuck up on me _again_, I would've kicked your butt." She told him with a challenging tone. Tony glanced down at her and smiled.

"Really, now?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." She walked towards him and snaked her arms around his waist and up towards his shoulder blades. She rested her head on his chest, right next to the arc reactor, and smiled deeply.

Tony moved his hands from his waist to hers. "Weren't you thirsty?"

"I can get a drink later." She breathed, closing her eyes, basking in his presence. "So, what did Natasha want?"

"You mean, _Natalie_?"

"I meant Natasha." She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Natalie, Natasha, Nicaragua. They all start with an 'N'." He said with a smirk.

"Have you even asked her what she prefers to be called?"

"Mm, no." Tony hummed.

"Okay, fine." Pepper huffed in slight frustration. "What did _Natalie_ want to talk to you about?"

"Nothing that should concern you." He grumbled back. He pushed his hands against her waist and held her at arms length. She moved her hands on his chest with her lips forming a small smile. "Do you want to watch a movie, or something?" He tried changing the subject. "We could go to bed early and skip to date twenty." Tony leaned in to kiss her but she pressed a finger to his lips.

"Stop trying to change the subject, Tony." She told him. Her voice had a mix of anger and sadness in it. "I've stuck by your side for years. I've pulled your ass out of many mistakes and tabloid issues, literally. I've replaced your arc reactor and I've gotten my hands dirty under your commands. If this is something to do with your health, Tony, please… just tell me." Sadness mixed into her last sentence. She looked up at him with pain in her eyes. Her finger slipped off his lips, hoping he would tell her the truth.

"Pepper…" Tony groaned and looked away. "…I…I can't tell you."

"What _can't_ you tell me?" She tilted her head to the side, trying to make him catch her gaze.

"Everything." He breathed, glancing at her.

"Tony, I _said_ I trust you, and I do. I trust you with my life." Pepper reminded him. "But, do you even trust _me_?"

His eyes snapped to her gaze. He noticed how soft her eyes were. They looked like soft blue clouds floating in the sky, waiting for someone to gaze up at them so they change shape.

"I trust you." He slightly nodded.

"But…?" She asked him, almost anticipating it.

"But…" He heavily sighed. "…I just can't tell you…"

Pepper looked away with a painful expression and closed her eyes. Tony saw a tear slowly trail down her cheek.

"Pepper…" He breathed, squeezing her hip.

"I'm going to bed." She sternly said. She moved out of his grasp, clearly showing how angry she was.

"Please, Pepper, you have to understand—" He pleaded.

"Understand what?" She swiftly turned around to look at him. Her cheek was damp and her eyes were beginning to turn red. "I've kept my ass on the line for you, Stark. I've taken out your _trash_ that you used to love to bring home."

"Pepper—" He frowned.

"I've done things I never thought I'd do in my _entire life_." She spat at him. "So, really, tell me what I have to understand. Tell me what _there even is_ to understand?"

Tony looked at her with his puppy dog eyes and deepened his frown. He saw a tear in the corner of her eye that was ready to slip down her cheek. He walked closer to her and lifted his hand up to her face. With his thumb, he slid it across her cheek and removed the tear.

Pepper looked away in torment.

"I…" _Shit, I'm ditching it again. Why can't I just say I love you? Is it really that hard for me to say to her?_ "I _want_ to tell you, Pepper. I really do, but… I'm trying to protect you by _not_ telling you."

She looked up at him in confusion. "So, you're lying to me to protect me?"

"In a way, yes…" He pressed his lips together.

"You're some piece of work, Tony." She snapped at him. Pepper walked out of his grasp and past him, purposefully bumping into his shoulder with her own. Tony heavily sighed and whipped around.

"What do you want me to say, Pepper?" He practically shouted.

Pepper's hand was on the wall nearest to the stair case. She was about to walk upstairs but his words hit her like a train. She turned her head to face him.

"I want you to tell me the truth. I'm tired of you sneaking around me. I'm tired of being the last to know about everything." She angrily grounded out. Tony stood there for a few seconds before frowning down at the ceramic tiled floor. She heavily sighed and pressed her lips together. "It _really_ hurt, Tony."

He looked up at her in awe and confusion. She removed her hand from the wall and pressed it against the spot where her heart was.

"Right here." A few more tears slipped down from the corners of her eyes to her jaw line. "When I was the last person to know that you were dying of palladium poisoning, it felt like my heart was being stabbed with a needle."

Tony's mouth gapped at her confession.

"You could've died without _me_ knowing. Your own damn P.A would've never known about your health until your body was found." She slightly nodded, gasping for air. "If you never found a replacement, I would've been the one to _literally_ clean up your mess."

Tony slightly shook his head and began to walk towards her. He never knew how she felt about that night when he told her through the intercom about his health. He had told her about the palladium poisoning when he was fighting off dozens of Hammeroids. Of course, he heard her desperate and painful plea for an explanation but he never realized _exactly_ how much pain he had caused her.

"Every day, Tony." She breathed. Her eyes were puffy and red. "Every day, I think about what you're _not_ telling me. Every day, I asked my self if you were still dying. And every day when I finally see your smile, and feel the warmth from your body, I _command_ myself that you're not."

"Pepper…" He gasped. He walked towards her with a worried expression. He hated to see her cry, especially when it was about him.

"I don't want to lose you, Tony." Her hand clutched the purple cloth that hid her skin, and her heart. Her head dipped forward. Some of hear tears fell to the floor from her jaw line, and some continued down her neck.

Once Tony was close enough, he protectively wrapped one arm around her body and one around her shoulder. He pushed her body to rest against hers. Pepper's hand that once gripped her blouse mindlessly made its way towards his back. Her other hand did the same. Her hands clutched the back of his dress shirt while her ear was pressed to his chest. She heard the vibrations from his arc reactor, the beating of his heart and the soft sobs that escaped from her mouth.

Tony pressed her head against chest with a hand on the top of her head. He closed his eyes and planted a long kiss on her head, allowing her to cry against his body.

"I'm sorry, Pepper." He breathed and closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

**A/N: :( Poor Pepper. It's a short chapter, I know. I just wanted to let you guys get some… er… fluff (?) on a Monday morning. Mondays are the days where you say "FML" all day. :) Stay frosty!**


	12. Chapter 12

"So, that's it?" Pepper rubbed Tony's stomach with her hand.

She and Tony were on his bed, laying down, and fully clothed. After Pepper cried her heart out to him, he led her upstairs where he calmed her down by holding her. When they lay down on the bed, he held her while she continued to quietly sob. When she finally calmed down, Tony apologized a few times before promising to tell her _almost_ everything. Within ten minutes, Pepper had looked up at him and waited for him to start confessing. When he did, she was mildly surprised.

"What do you mean 'So, that's it'?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. His tone was filled with worry. "Pepper, your life is in danger. Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"Yeah, I am, but you had to keep _everything_ from me for the sake of my life?" She practically rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to protect you…"

"And granted, I'm very grateful for that…"

"But…?" Tony heavily sighed. He anticipated her choice of words.

Pepper hugged his waist to calm him down. "But, I should be trying to protect myself. Just because you're a super hero doesn't mean people aren't able to protect themselves."

"You're my girlfriend, Peps."

"Yes, and you're my boyfriend." She admitted with a slight smirk. "But there are times when I can handle things myself."

"So… do you not want me to control the dangers in your life?" He stared up at the ceiling.

"No." She paused and smiled. "I love it that you want to protect me, but just inform me of the dangers ahead of time so we can both share the stress and worry."

Tony widened his smile. He didn't think Pepper would exactly say that to him. She wanted to be a part of this battle, not an accessory or a bump in the road. She wanted to fight along side of him. She didn't show signs of complete and utter worry. She admired his strength and his duty as a super hero. She loved what he's become and what's shaped him into the person he is now. It felt like she was falling in love all over again.

Pepper nuzzled her cheek into his chest and closed her eyes. She smiled happily when she felt Tony's hand rub her back and hold her waist. He eventually closed his own eyes in content with the position they were in. The warmth of her body acted like a heater for him. He didn't want to move. He liked lying next to her and protectively holding her.

"Tony." She whispered. Her eyes were still shut.

"Hm?" He hummed, still enjoying her company.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Pepper opened her eyes and stirred against his grasp.

Tony opened his eyes, wondering why she pulled out of his grasp. He turned his head and saw Pepper sitting next to his side. She looked down at him with a small frown, almost as if she was anticipating another secret. With slight hesitation, he shook his head.

"I'd like to know now rather than later." She gave him one last chance.

He frowned and sat up. His body was faced one way and hers faced the other way. He turned his head and studied her face.

"What makes you think I'm hiding something else from you?" He asked in a serious tone.

Pepper glanced down at her lap before looking back up at him. He saw how worried he was. "You're not really in a good position to be asking that."

Tony turned his head in defeat and heavily sighed. They both sat there in silence for a few seconds. Without looking at her, he asked, "Does this mean you don't trust me anymore?"

Pepper slowly turned her head to face him. He was still looking away, but this time his gaze was fixated on his lap.

"It's not that I don't trust you." She reassured him, making him turn his head to look at her in curiosity. "I just don't want any secrets between us."

"I swear, Pepper, I don't have any more secrets, especially ones that I've been keeping from you." He looked at the wall in front of him, pondering about their discussion. _Does she trust me? Well, I don't blame her. I've practically kept her life a secret, so to speak._ Suddenly, he felt a warm hand rest against his left cheek. He pressed his lips together and let the hand guide his face to confront hers. His gaze, worried and exhausted, locked with hers.

"Tony…"

"I'm sorry I kept it from you." He practically blurted out. He searched for his next words. "I would rather _not_ tell you and protect your life with my bare hands than _tell_ you and build up that ball of stress you always keep contained."

Pepper smirked. "I'm stressed out either way." She tried to reassure him but it made him worry even more. He looked away from her gaze, making her hand slip down from his cheek. She pressed her lips together in exhaustion and searched for his hand. After a few seconds, she pressed her hand against his and held it.

Tony, slowly but curiously, looked down at their joined hands and then back up at her gaze. He had always stressed her out. It was his life that always stressed her out. She managed it within the palm of her hand, literally. In the beginning, she would beg him to attend his meetings, but as she got used to managing his life, she would ask if he was going to attend, he would answer, and she would just go along with it. She handled every aspect of his life and she rarely complained. She always took care of him, now it was his turn to take care of her.

"Pepper, you deserve much more than this." He started out.

"What?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"I hate stressing you out… making you worry about me every time I go out on a mission, and then when I get back, you demand that I isolate myself so I can heal…"

"What are you trying to say?" She asked him. "Tony, it doesn't matter if you're on a mission or not, or if you're in your workshop. I'll always stress out about your life because…" Pepper saw the pain in his eyes.

Her hand moved to his other side as her smile grew. She looped her arms around his waist and hugged him endearingly. She rested her head against his chest. The light blue glow from his reactor lightly seeped through his white dress shirt. She felt the relaxing humming vibrations coming from the small device. Tony protectively wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close. He looked down at the spot next to her with a small frown. Tony didn't want to let her go. He, honest to god, wished that he and Pepper could just escape from the dangers and the evil villains.

"…You're all I've got." She breathed.

"You're all I've got, too." He felt his palms start to sweat.

Tony slowly closed his eyes and tilted his head forward. He inhaled her warm vanilla scent before his forehead hit her shoulder. He squeezed her shoulders and sighed in content. Pepper knew him all too well. She knew what he was thinking, what he wanted, what he was afraid to do, and what he wanted to do.

Pepper turned her head to plant a light kiss on the side of his neck. With a small smile, she dug her nose in the crook of his neck.

They sat in that position for a few minutes before Tony pulled away. Pepper looked up at him with her warm blue eyes. She removed her hands from his back and gently rubbed his arm.

"I hate risking your life like this…" He muttered. Tony stared down at her hand rubbing gentle paths up and down his arm.

Pepper started to chuckle a bit. "I knew the danger would come with the job. In fact, I believe it's _included_ in the job description."

He tiled his head up and quickly smiled at her. He loved every bit of her endearing personality. Sure, he stressed her out like crazy, but she was always with him. She stuck by his side, even when he suddenly became a super hero. She didn't ask questions but she pushed his buttons until he popped. Pepper was something special—no, she was very special.

Tony gently grabbed her wrists and laid them gently on his hip. While her hands molded perfectly with his hip, he gently grabbed her waist and leaned forward. Their kiss wasn't like the ones they've had in the past. He wanted to explore every part of her body, he wanted to show her how much he wanted her, and how much she meant to him. But, Pepper slowly pulled away, smiling and chuckling.

"What was that for?" She whispered in a low voice, almost in an alluring tone.

Tony stared at her for a few seconds before grinning like a Cheshire cat. Before Pepper could react, he was tipping forward, pushing her down with him. She gasped in surprise and tried to wiggle free but his grip was too strong. He had one arm resting under her head (how he managed that befuddled her), and one arm protectively wrapped across her stomach and over her waist.

She felt light kisses on the side of her head and her cheek. It wasn't a normal sight to witness; seeing and feeling Tony completely surround her with endearing kisses and romantic displays of affection. So, once she noticed how affectionate he was, she stopped struggling and let him hold her.

"Tony…" She breathed and smiled. Her cheeks suddenly flashed a pinkish hue.

"You're so perfect, Pepper." He whispered into her hair.

"Nobody is perfect." Pepper smile grew. Her hands found their way to his arm that was still draped across her stomach and around her waist. She lightly gripped his forearm in retaliation but he kept on digging his face in her hair. If anyone saw them, one would begin to be suspicious and jump to the conclusion that he was getting high off her scent.

He tilted his head back and looked down at her with the most sincere smile. "Believe me, I've seen smart women, a lot, actually," This made Pepper wrinkle her nose in distastefulness. ", and they're not nearly as perfect as you." He kissed the top of her head once more.

She felt his grip loosen around her waist and took the opportunity to shift to the side so she could look back up at him.

"I actually need to tell you something." She pressed her lips together.

Tony widened his eyes and started to glance down at her belly. Pepper smirked and used her arm to tilt his chin back up.

"Not that kind of 'something', Tony."

"Oh, thank god." He breathed. Pepper raised her eyebrow at him. "I-I-I mean… I'm sure we'd make fine children—I just—I mean—Children shouldn't—Babies are kind of—You'd be a great mother—I just think children aren't the best thing to be thinking about, what with Leon missing and all these mad men after me—"

Pepper's lips formed a small smile before she shook her head at him. "We haven't even had sex yet."

"Oh… right…" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "Date twenty?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at him. "You're still thinking about that?"

"I'm a man, Pepper. What else can I think about?"

"Upgrades? Machines? Leon's disappearance?" She listed off a few things.

"I mean when we're together… and alone."

"Getting back to what I said." She changed the subject. "I need to tell you something."

Tony nodded and stared into her deep blue eyes, waiting for her to continue. He was anticipating something horrific, like her parents rose from the grave and wanted to meet him over a family dinner.

"You have two meetings tomorrow—"

He immediately groaned. "Oh my god, Pepper."

Pepper laughed at him. She loved teasing him like that but she wasn't sure he took her seriously or not. Either way, she knew he would protest to such meetings – he always did.

—Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony-Pepperony—

"Are you sure this is safe?" A shadow appeared in the far left corner of the room.

The square like space contained four corners. Lights were placed in the middle of the room, revealing the center chair that was lifted up using a square solid box. The chair was occupied by a man with a brown medium haircut. His eyes were a soft blue hue and he wore a plain white t-shirt, and a pair of dark colored jeans. He was slouched in his chair, and his head was propped up using the palm of his hand. His elbow was lazily resting on the arm rest. He looked like he was in his late twenties.

"Of course it's safe." Another man from a different corner shouted.

"Khris would have not ordered the attack without properly calculating the outcomes!" Another man from the right corner shouted.

"But it came with a price." The man in the left corner whispered. "Leon's disappearance was not foreseen in the plan!"

"Are you doubting Khris?" The man in the right corner shouted.

Khris, the man in the middle of the room, opened his eyes and stared directly at the man in the left corner.

"N-No! I—I—"

Before anyone could react, the man was suddenly shot with a blue repulsor ray, one very similar to Iron Man's. All heads turned to the unconscious body and then at Khris.

"He isn't wrong." Khris breathed. "Leon's disappearance was a surprise."

"Should we focus all of our men on finding him?"

"What good would that do?" Khris looked at his arm that was surrounded in metallic pieces of scrap, colored wires, and glowing blue cords. "Leon obviously has other plans."

"We're just going to let him go?"

"We're not going to do anything." Khris looked up. His blue eyes burned mental holes into the walls of the structure.

**A/N: Sorry I was M.I.A for the last month or so. I had finals but I aced them (some of them anyways)! :) I jumped my grade from a C to an A lol. It was my hardest class, too! Computer Science is a hard major, but it's fun. I'm on spring break right now (poop-sticks, it's only a week break). So, I'll try to type as fast as I can!**


	13. Chapter 13

"How long will it take?" Natalie asked. Her arms were crossed against her chest and her impatient expression burned a hole in Tony's calm barrier.

"JARVIS just said it would take another ten minutes. Jeeze, you're more impatient than when Pepper tells me I have to get ready for a meeting in ten minutes." Tony was hunched over his desk, in front of his two monitors. He glanced at her a few times before feeling her glare burn a hole on his forehead.

"Fury expected this to be done by last night, but seeing as how generous I was, I said we'd get it done today." She reminded him.

"And I'm truly happy about that." He flashed a small smile.

"Your ass is on the line if JARVIS doesn't get this done quick."

"Whoa, whoa, JARVIS is doing everything he can do. Why does it have to be my ass? Why can't it be yours?" Tony straightened his back and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Your ass is the easiest target." She returned a cold glare.

"My ass is the easiest target." He mocked her in a high pitched voice. "My ass is what makes me a target."

"Oh, don't be so full of yourself." Natalie said in a deep tone before rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, admit that I'm handsome and I have a cute tush." This time, Tony's lips formed a full grin.

"I thought you had a girlfriend." She asked coldly.

"I do, and she thinks I'm handsome and has a cute butt." Tony widened his smile.

"Then you'll find that I have no problem using you as a punching bag until JARVIS is done." Natalie calmly spat back.

"Why do you always have to be so cold?" He did a short side step away from her and tried to focus on the task at hand.

"Because it seems to be the only way to get you to focus." Natalie responded. She turned her head once she heard the glass door behind her click open.

Pepper walked through the door with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. She flashed a small smile at Natalie before walking over to Tony's side. She nudged his shoulder and carefully handed him the cup of coffee. She laid the newspaper on his desk and glanced at his monitors.

"How is everything?" Pepper curiously asked.

"Speedy and frustrating, right, Natalie?" Tony faked a smile at her and she just angrily stared at him.

"Sure." She breathed.

"Oh god, what time is it?" Pepper looked down at her watch and felt Tony's hand rub tiny circles on her back. "Crap, I have a meeting to go to in twenty minutes."

"Are you seriously thinking about going to the meeting?" Tony raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I told you last night, your life is in danger. You shouldn't be running around willy nilly, right now." He tried to explain to her. He really didn't want to her to go to those meetings for two reasons. One, her life was in danger and two, he wanted her to stay in kissing range.

"Willy nilly?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Natalie stood there, practically continuously rolling her eyes at the couple.

"I'm trying out new words, so sue me." He playfully added. "You are _not_ going to that meeting."

"Tony, it is just a meeting, and it's only a five minute drive from here to Stark Industries." She tried to tell him.

He glanced up at Natalie and then back at Pepper. "Fine, you can go to the meeting only if Natalie accompanies you."

"What?" Natalie and Pepper both shouted at the same time.

"I _do not need_ a body guard." Pepper pressed her lips together and glared. "I certainly do not want questions regarding Natalie's outfit to arise in the tabloids."

Natalie stood there and quietly observed their conversation. Tony was somewhat right. If Pepper was going to travel from one place to another alone, then there definitely was ample time for the guy to get his hands on her.

"I do not want him to get his hands on you, Pepper." Tony told her in a very endearing tone. "If he was able to capture Leon, then he's certainly capable of capturing you."

"I'm not that fragile, Tony." She crossed her arms across her chest.

"Yes, I know—"

"Happy will be with me—"

"What if he knocks Happy out with a pipe or something?"

_A pipe? _"Why would he be carrying a pipe?" Pepper folded her arms across her chest and huffed.

"I'm just thinking of the worst case scenario." Tony rolled his eyes.

"The worst case scenario would be a nuclear missile."

"Oh my god… Pepper, I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"It's only a five minute drive."

"There's no guarantee that he won't try and grab you while you're inside the building." Tony pressed his lips together. His hands gently gripped her shoulders in reassurance and comfort.

"He's actually right." Natalie finally spoke up. All eyes were on her. "This man is very dangerous and assuming he's after Tony, he'll be after you, too."

Pepper heavily sighed. "What about the tabloids? They're going to think I'm hiring strippers as bodyguards."

"Don't worry. I'll be out of sight." Natalie responded.

"Heh." Tony chuckled. "You called her a stripper."

Pepper's bottom lip stuck out while she pressed her lips together and rammed her elbow into Tony's ribs. A painful 'ow' from him meant that she was successful in shutting him up.

"That actually hurt." Tony rubbed his ribs while flashing a small frown.

"There's more where that came from if you keep it up, Stark." Pepper scolded him.

"We should leave right now if you want to get to the meeting on time." Natalie spoke up, making the couple turn their heads to face her.

"Okay." Pepper nodded. She looked up at Tony and gave him and chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll be back later, okay?"

"Be careful." He whispered. He watched as Pepper walked towards the glass door with those sexy high heels of hers. His eyes slowly trailed up, taken aback by those legs of hers. Just when his eyes were about to hit her upper thigh, his vision was blocked by Natalie's body. He looked up and saw her roll her eyes at him.

"How much more time?" She dryly asked.

"Uh." Tony shook some mental images out of his head before turning to the monitors. "A little more than five minutes."

"After the information comes through, I want you to analyze it and give any, or all, information to Fury. He'll know what to do with it." Natalie walked toward the glass door and raised her hand to grip the door handle. At the last second, she paused and slightly turned her head. "I don't care what that information holds. You are to do exactly what I told you. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Just make sure Pepper comes back safe." He waved her warning off.

"Keep me updated." She finally said before opening the glass door. Tony waved his hand, dismissing her last words.

Once her presence left the workshop, he sat back in his chair with his hands folded behind his head. "How many more minutes, JARVIS?"

"Two, sir." The AI announced.

"What does it look like so far?" Tony sat up in his chair and rolled over to his Iron Man suit.

"Analyzing has discovered that two files were transferred to a portable USB drive the night of the attack." JARVIS responded.

"Anything on Leon's disappearance?"

"So far, no."

"Okay." Tony slightly nodded and stared at his suit for two seconds. "We'll have to focus on the files at were stolen the night of the attack. Maybe it can give us a clue on Leon's whereabouts."

"What about Project Kin?" JARVIS asked.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and swiveled around in his chair. "What?"

"Project Kin was the most accessed file in Leon Industries' system."

"But… According to Pepper, at the night of the Charity Ball, Jones Hardman was the one that mentioned Project Kin." Tony lightly brushed his hand against the hairs of his goatee.

"The files are done analyzing, sir."

He rolled his chair back to his desk. "Start recovery system 225 and pull up the last back up before the attack."

"Done."

"Pull them up on monitor one and keep the file that contains Project Kin on stand by." Tony told JARVIS. He scanned the files that flew onto his monitor and quickly skimmed them. Most of the content made sense to him since the files was mostly weapons based.

"Leon Industries' system is starting to retaliate, sir."

_Shit_. "How many minutes until their system overrides?" His desk started to glow blue as the illuminated touch keyboard appeared. Tony's fingers immediately got to work once JARVIS announced the bad news. If their system started to retaliate then there wasn't enough time to look over the files at that moment.

"The rate their virtual security is working, I estimate at least ten minutes."

"At least it's enough time to copy everything." Tony pressed his lips together in frustration. He slid his index finger across the table in the direct of the other table a few feet away. "Transferring the files I wanted copied to sever three."

"Preparing files." The AI announced. "Would you like me to store these in your private server?"

"That would be nice, thank you, JARVIS." Tony slightly nodded to himself. He looked up at the monitors and caught sight of the Project Kin folder. With a swipe of his index finger, the folder was transferred to the other table. He got up from his chair and walked over to the table with his arms crossed against his chest. The table lit up, upon his approach. A holographic 3-D image stood up, showing all three folders. A bar at the bottom slowly ran to the right, indicating the progress of the files being copied.

"Hm…" Tony hummed to himself and brought his hand up to his chin. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock. "JARVIS." He breathed and immediately looked up.

"Yes, sir?"

"What kind of meeting is Pepper going to, today?" He started to panic. Everything started to add up in his mind but he was jumping to various conclusions that could not be supported by evidence.

"She is currently meeting with KTA and ROM."

_KTA… why does that sound so familiar?_ "Do you have the roster for that meeting?"

"Yes." JARVIS responded immediately.

"Pull up the roster." Tony commanded. At an instant, the hologram shoved the three folders to the side and slid up a small list of people that attended the meeting. He skimmed the list, and found Jones Hardman along with Pepper Potts. _Shit!_

"Sir, I've successfully copied the three folders and moved them into your private server."

"Thanks." Tony gritted his teeth together and closed his eyes. _If Hardman was the one that created Project Kin, then why does Leon have it? Either Hardman and Leon are working together or Hardman found out that Leon stole the files from him and put a hit on his whole system, OR the attack wasn't in relation to Hardman but once he found out about his files in their system, he kidnapped and killed Leon._ "Send the two folders that were transferred the night of the attack to Fury. Keep Project Kin."

"Right away, sir." JARVIS agreed.

Tony slid the roster aside and stared at the folder labeled 'Project Kin'.

**A/N: Going back to college tomorrow. One week was not enough of a break for me. But good news! I get Fridays off! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Pepper walked through the front door with a purse in one hand and her Blackberry in the other. She walked towards the couch and placed her bag there. She stood there, typing away on her Blackberry, and answering some e-mails. She made the motion to sit down until a pair of strong arms suddenly enveloped her. With a small squeal, she squirmed in the person's grasp and laughed lightly.

"Tony, what the—" She grinned, almost losing grip of her phone.

"Thank god you're safe." He whispered, digging his nose in the crook of her neck.

"I told you it was safe. And I assure you, _it was_ a safe and boring meeting." She stopped squirming and felt his grip on her loosen.

His head sprung up. "Really, you thought the meeting was boring?"

She nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and smirked. "I'm glad to know you were worried about my safety." She added sarcastically.

Tony chuckled. "Of course I was worried about you—but I didn't think you'd actually say if a meeting was boring."

"You weren't there to make snide remarks about others through texting, so yeah, it was boring."

"Where's Natalie?" Tony turned his head slightly to look behind him.

"She dropped left after Happy dropped us off. She said she had other pressing matters to attend to." Pepper managed to turn in his arms to face him. She saw a worried expression flash across his face. She furrowed her eyebrows and began to grow worried herself. "Is everything okay?"

"Um… not exactly." He told her, pressing his lips together. "I want you to look at something." He unraveled his arms and tugged on her wrist. Pepper reluctantly followed him with curiosity.

He walked down the stairs that led to his workshop and inputted his access code. With Pepper trailing behind him, they both entered the garage. She looked around and saw the digital turquoise hologram that floated on top of his other desk and various other files on the screen of every monitor.

Tony led her to his main desk and bent over. He waved his hand over the desk and an illuminated keyboard glowed light blue. His fingers flew across the keyboard just as a few files popped up one by one. Pepper looked over his shoulders and peered at the monitors. He sat down in his desk chair and heavily sighed.

"When Natalie and you left to go to that meeting, JARVIS managed to spot two files that were recorded as transferred on the night of the attack. We ran a recovery back up systematic program and recovered the files but JARVIS told me something at the last minute that caught my attention." Tony looked up at Pepper. Her eyes were fixated on the monitors.

"What was in the two stolen files?" She glanced down at him.

"I skimmed through them. The recovered back up files was missing at least one-eighth of its information – it was expected. But, I managed to get the gist of it. Leon Industries was trying to build a smart missile. They managed to get most of the mechanical and electrical issues down but their calculations were a bit off." Tony started out.

"Okay, so we have the two files that were pretty much useless for both parties." Pepper figured. She glanced over at Tony and noticed he was unfazed by her statement. "What?"

"He duplicated my weaponry." He stood up from his seat and walked around his desk. She kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to continue talking. Of course she knew that the man had duplicated his weaponry. He told her himself. But what did that—

"If he stole this information from Leon Industries, he could do some serious damage." Tony pressed his lips together and folded his arms across his chest. "I've done most of the calculations while you guys were away. It would take at least two weeks for him to buy the parts and finish the calculations."

"What does it make?" She glanced down at the monitors.

"A missile that splits up into five separate bombs."

"Like the Jericho—?"

"Worse." Tony interjected with a frustrated and worried expression. "Much worse. Each bomb splits up into one hundred micro bombs. They have a blast radius of three feet."

"W-well, you gave the information to Fury, right?" She tried to calm him down. She knew what he was getting at. Tony hated it when his own weaponry was used against innocent people. He blamed himself for the deaths of innocents around the world. It wasn't his weaponry that this man was using this time, but he still treated it like it was his fault.

"Yes, I did." Tony nodded. "But he wouldn't listen to me when I told him how dangerous it was. He told me to let everyone else handle it." He started to walk over to his Iron Man suit. Pepper's eyes suddenly widened.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" She furrowed her eyebrows slightly and quickly walked towards him. "Please tell me you aren't going to do what I think you're going to do."

"How can I _not_ do anything, Pepper?" He angrily asked, and almost shouted, at her. He whipped his head around to glare at her. Without a doubt, Pepper was shaken up by his voice, but she stood her ground and looked at him. She didn't show any signs of frustration, anger, worry, or fear. She just looked at him.

"He's not using your weaponry, Tony. He's using Leon's."

"It doesn't matter!" He shouted this time. She still stood her ground. "He's duplicated my weaponry and he still hasn't been stopped. That's reason enough to go after him."

"What are you going to do once you catch him?" She blatantly asked. Tony looked up at her and saw how serious she was. He didn't say a word. "Are you going to kill him?"

"Of course not." He managed to mutter.

"Are you going to put him away in jail like Justin Hammer?"

"Why are you asking me this?" He asked under his breath.

"Because you're really worked up right now. If you go out there and try and capture him, you'll fight with your emotions, not with your head." She pointed it out to him. "I don't want to see you get hurt and unintentionally do something that you'll later regret."

Tony heavily sighed and looked away. She was right. He was getting worked up over something that wasn't a complete threat yet. If he went out there, and managed to find the man that has been duplicating his weapons… there's no telling what he would've done to him. He made his way over to Pepper and tugged at her hand. Again, she followed him, but this time it was to the hologram table.

"JARVIS, pull up folder fifty-five." He announced. He looked over at her with endearing eyes. Pepper glanced up at him and saw how soft and glossy his eyes were. She was about to smile back but once his head turned, the moment was gone. "Look."

Pepper looked up at the hologram and widened her eyes. "What… but how?"

Tony looked up at the folder that was labeled 'Project Kin' and pressed his lips together. "JARVIS found this folder in Leon Industries system. Didn't Hardman talk to you about—"

"He did." Pepper interjected him. "And he was there at today's meeting."

"I know…" He muttered under his breath. "Did he talk to you?"

"He seemed… normal." She looked up at him.

"Normal?"

"Like Leon's disappearance didn't faze him." She shook her head in disappointment. "I can't believe—does he know that Leon had this?"

"I don't know. I was thinking they were working together." Tony shrugged. "What did he tell you about Project Kin on the night of the Charity Ball?"

"Nothing unusual." She folded her arms across her chest. "He said his team was working on a weapon of some kind. Something that could vitally paralyze someone."

"Nothing else?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "Just a jealous boyfriend and butted in after." She playfully grinned up at him.

Tony chuckled to himself and smiled down at her. "You can't expect me to just sit there and watch as an annoying businessman flirts with my personal assistant."

"Did you figure out what Project Kin had?"

Tony had noticed her change in subject. "Um… kind of. The files contained weird calculations and engineering schematics. It didn't look like anything I've ever seen before. It was all jumbled up too."

"Jumbled up?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows.

"Words were turned around. Numbers and calculations weren't exactly neat. And some of the commentary at the side was blurred out." Tony touched the hologram, opening the folder. The files flew out of its container and into plain sight. He zoomed in on one of the schematics and pointing at the blurred out words.

"That's weird."

"Yeah… I didn't give it to Fury. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?" He smiled down at Pepper and she smiled back. She shook her head at him and nudged his side.

"He'll find out one day, and you'll be sorry." She warned him and gave him a smug look.

"When is the next meeting with Hardman?"

"Next week on Monday." She responded.

"Are you going to go?" He raised his eyebrows at her, implying that she shouldn't go.

"Yes, of course. I'm your P.A, Tony. I'm supposed to go to these meetings since you obviously never want to go."

"What!" He exclaimed. "Why do you—"

"Do you want to go instead?" She glared at him.

"If it means that you'll be out of his reach, then yes." He nodded and paused. "Pepper, he could seriously reach over the table," He started to make gestures with his hands. "grab your neck, and kill you."

"You're incorrigible." She rolled her eyes at him.

"At least act serious about this, Pepper."

"A weapon that vitally paralyzes someone doesn't sound that harmful, Tony."

"It's a weapon nonetheless." He tried to tell her. "And he did say that he wanted to further inform you about Project Kin."

"So, now you want to use me as bait? I thought you were hell bent on protecting me. _It is_ the reason why you lied to me about _everything_." She shot back at him.

"I _do_ want to project you, but while you two were away, I've thought of a plan." He watched Pepper take out her Blackberry.

"Can you tell me later? I have to meet with Jane right now."

"Jane?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "If you wanted a threesome, you could've just asked."

"Oh can it, Tony." She spat back. "Jane is the woman that takes care of the shipment papers for all of the equipment. She wanted to make sure the regular list was still accurate and useable."

"When will you be back?" He asked, almost with an innocent tone. Pepper glanced up at him and noticed how disappointed he looked. She couldn't help but flash a small smile.

"I'll be back around five o'clock." She reassured him, making her way towards the glass door. "I'll bring dinner home, so don't eat anything until I get back."

Tony nodded with a small frown. Before she left his workshop, he called her back. "Pepper."

She turned around with her Blackberry still in her hands. "Hm?" She hummed innocently.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier… I was just—"

He was apologizing for something that wasn't initially his fault. She knew that he was under a lot of pressure. He had to worry about innocent people, basically the world, and yet he still wanted to apologize for yelling at her. It wasn't the first time he did it, but he was still sorry for it. Tony wasn't usually the type of person to say sorry to anything or anyone. She was glad he changed for her. She was pretty sure even the butterflies in her stomach were smiling like a Cheshire cat. "I know, Tony." She said understandably; her small smile grew quickly.

**A/N: Short chapter. :S It's getting hotter here in L.A. But it's night time right now, so it's the perfect weather! I went to Santa Monica with my friends. We were going to go to Venice, actually they were going to drop me off so I can go find Robert Downey Jr, but we went to the beach instead. They kept shouting "HEY IT'S ROBERT!" and pointing at random people. :( I'm so gullible. **


	15. Chapter 15

Tony lay on top of his bed and stared up at the ceiling. His hands were entwined with each other on top of his chest. It was around seven o'clock and Pepper hadn't come home yet. His impatient mind told him to call her but his bored self told him to watch T.V. He actually called the office a while ago and one of the assistants picked up. Kelly, from employee services, had told him that Pepper was in an unexpected extended meeting with R&D. So, he figured that she would be home by seven o'clock, but it just turned 7:02 PM, and he was already getting bored.

After he left his workshop, he changed into a plain white t-shirt and a pair of dark grey sweats. He had lay on top of his bed sheets and decided to wait for her.

His mind strolled through the various thoughts he had about Project Kin, Leon's disappearance, his duplicated weaponry, Fury, Natalie, and Hardman… _God damn that Hardman. I swear, if he lays a hand on Pepper, I'll so fu_—

The front door slammed shut, thus alerting Tony. His eyes flew to the bedroom door and saw Pepper slowly stroll in. She was in the middle of a big yawn.

Tony widened his smile and carefully watched her movements with his eyes. "Big day at the office?"

Pepper stifled a yawn again. "Yeah…" She kicked off her high heels and threw her purse on a nearby chair. She climbed on top of the bed with her business outfit still on and gently laid her head on top of his chest. Tony gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder so she could use his arm as a pillow. She snuggled up to his side and nudged his ribs with her cheek. She wrapped her arm around his waist and tucked the other arm in between their bodies.

"Kelly told me you called." Pepper mumbled with her eyes closed.

"You said you would by home by five o'clock." He looked down at her sleepy form and couldn't help but endearingly smile.

"Sorry…" She mumbled again. "…meeting… R&D…"

"I know. Kelly told me." He pressed a small kiss to the top of her head.

"Mm…" She fluttered her eyes open and looked up at him. "…What'd you do while I was gone?"

"Nothing much." He planted a small kiss on her lips. "I worked on the suit and upgraded JARVIS. Then Dummy wanted to be upgraded to…"

Pepper chuckled at his last comment. "What kind of upgrade did you give Dummy?"

"Nothing special; just a faster processing mechanism. Hopefully he won't short circuit." He widened his smile.

Pepper felt her eyelids get heavier. She rubbed her cheek into his side again and hummed, telling him that she was listening. "Sounds fun…"

"Did you do anything 'fun' today?" He mildly asked her. He knew she was slowly falling asleep. He just didn't want to stop talking to her. He hadn't seen her for more than half of the day. In short, he just really missed her.

"Sign papers… read… stuff… walked…" After a few seconds, Pepper had fallen asleep. Her rhythmic breathing gave it away. Tony glanced down at her and saw how much she was clinging on to him. It made him want to grin like a love sick puppy. He pressed a small kiss to the side of her head.

"I know you're going to yell at me later if I don't tell you." He mumbled.

"Wha—?" Pepper began to mutter sleepily.

"I doubt you want to sleep in your dress shirt and skirt." He responded, carefully watching her movements.

She groaned sleepily and rubbed her face against his side again. "Okay… five more minutes…"

Tony laughed lightly and began to move away. Once she felt him stir under her body, she groaned again. "C'mon, the faster you can get into your pajamas, the faster you can go back to sleep."

"Mm… I still… make-up… off…" She rolled over to her side of the bed, her back facing him. Tony sat up on the bed and glanced over at the sleeping beauty.

He nudged her side with his arm. "Wakey wakey!"

Pepper stirred a bit and began to growl. "Mm…" She obviously did not want to be woken up.

"If you don't get up to put on your pajamas, I'm going to undress you myself." He warned her. He actually thought it would work since he and Pepper weren't at the phase yet. He stared at her back and waited for her to say something but not a peep came out of her. Tony heavily sighed and swung his legs off the bed. He walked over to her sleeping body and kneeled.

Her eyelids were closed shut and her make-up was still on. Her light pink shaded lipstick was dry on her lips. Her mouth was slightly open and her breathing stared to even out. Tony widened his smile as he witnessed his P.A, girlfriend, and best friend sleep soundly. He slowly reached for the top button on her dress shirt. He wondered what kind of reaction she would have to his abrupt movements. He touched the button with his rough hands and glanced over at her beautiful face. When he saw that her eyes were slightly opened, he felt his heart beat twice as fast.

She saw how frightened he looked; he looked like he had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She chuckled at his expression and quietly sat up.

"Okay, I'm up. I'm up." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and felt him plop down on the bed, beside her. "You could've just pushed me off the bed to get me to wake up, Tony. You didn't have to awkwardly start undressing me."

"I wouldn't push you off the bed—"

"Even if I was snoring?" She raised her eyebrow at him.

"You snore?" He asked, glancing back at her.

"No one hasn't told I do, so…" Pepper grinned to herself and reached behind her head to untie her ponytail. Her hair gracefully fell down her neck and balanced itself on her shoulders. He saw how shiny and soft her hair looked; his mouth practically opened on its own. She stifled a big yawn and turned her head to look at him. When she saw his mouth open, she gasped a cute chuckle.

Pepper widened her smile and pushed his lower jaw back up with her hand. "You're not even asleep and yet you're already drooling."

"Can you blame me?" He grinned at her. "You should wear your hair down more often."

"So I can get ogled at twenty-four seven?" She stood up from the bed and walked over to the closet.

"I ogle you either way." He smirked.

Pepper disappeared into the closet with her hand scratching the back of her head. "Tony?" She called out.

"Yes?" He responded.

She walked out from the closet with her eyebrows furrowed. "Have you seen my pajamas?"

"They should be on your side of the closet." He lay back down on the bed with his hand behind his head.

"They aren't there." She pressed her lips together.

"Are you talking about your purple tank top and white sweats you left on top of the bed this morning?" He winced a little.

"Yes…" Her voice grew deeper, almost in a threatening tone. "…Tony, what did you do to them?"

"I threw them in the hamper." He innocently responded and watched as she walked to the bathroom.

"The hamper is empty." She called from the bathroom.

"I… kind of… tried to do my own dry cleaning…" He furrowed his eyebrows and prepared himself for whatever she was going to throw at him.

"Why… why would you…" She angrily growled before pausing. "Why did you try to do your own dry cleaning?"

"Rhodey told me I should try and do my own laundry. So I did." He simply answered, shrugging slightly.

"Okay…" Pepper rested her hands on her hip and raised an eyebrow at him. "… well for starters, you don't need to send everything to the dry cleaners. You do know you actually have a washer and dryer downstairs, right?"

"Must've slipped my mind." Tony grinned at her.

"Do you even know how to use the washer and dryer?"

"Like I said, must've slipped my mind."

"You're impossible." Pepper smirked, strolling back to the closet. "Do you have a shirt and a pair of sweats I can borrow?"

"They should be in the closet towards the back." He answered her, looking up at the ceiling. He gathered his thoughts for a second and remembered how much trouble he had getting his laundry to the dry cleaners. While she was at Stark Industries, he was carrying the laundry downstairs to the front door. He placed the bag there and waited for someone to pick it up, but no one came by. So he had called Rhodey but all he did was laugh at him. He eventually asked JARVIS what Pepper usually did and called the dry cleaners. They picked up the bag and told him they would drop it off in a few days. He heard a click coming from the closet door and turned his attention to it.

His eyes widened in sheer astonishment at the figure in front of the door. Pepper stood there wearing one of his plain blue t-shirts and ash grey sweats. She widened her smile at him when she saw how he observed her. His eyes were completely fixated on her body.

"What?" She smirked, walking towards the bed.

"You should wear my clothes more often." He grinned at her, welcoming her presence on top of the bed. He scooted over, taking the right side of the bed. Pepper climbed up on the bed and sat beside his relaxed form. He wrapped his arm around her hip and tugged on the farthest side of her shirt. She smiled and proceeded to lie down beside him. She assumed her original position and pressed her cheek to his side.

"Good night, Pepper." He whispered.

"Good night, Tony." She responded, closing her eyes.

After a few seconds, he realized that the lights were still on. He looked down at her comfortable position that molded nicely with his side. He was about to ruin the silence until—_Oh right, I knew I programmed JARVIS for a reason._

"Lights off, JARVIS."

"Good night, Sir." The AI responded and turned off the lights at the same time.

**A/N: Again, short chapter. Internet went out in my dorm hall last night, so I took the opportunity to work on fanfiction. Have a splendid week!**


	16. Chapter 16

"Miss Potts, it is now 10:00 AM." JARVIS announced.

Pepper began to stir. _So… tired…_ She thought, trying to block out the sun that was invading the room she was sleeping in. _Wait… 10:00 AM?_ She sprung up from under the sheets and carefully fluttered her eyes open. She looked around the room and noticed the lack of her apartment décor.

She patted the space next to her and noticed that half of the bed was made. _Tony._ She glanced over at the closet and saw a pile of clothes next to the door. Pepper's lips formed a small smile when she remembered what had happened last night. She came in from work later than expect and exhaustedly collapsed on the bed whilst cuddling next to Tony, using him to warm her up. It wasn't what she expected her night would comprise of, but she was a bit glad to be able to spend the night with him.

"JARVIS, where is Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked, scooting her legs out of bed and onto the carpeted floor.

"Mr. Stark is in his workshop." The AI responded.

"Thanks." She replied, getting up from the bed and walking towards the closet. She picked up Tony's pajamas and tossed them on the bed. She turned back to the closet and opened the doors. The light flickered on, presenting hundreds of articles of clothing and dozens of pairs of shoes.

"But," JARVIS continued, "He does not wish to be disturbed until further notice."

Pepper poked her head out of the closet and furrowed her eyebrows up at the ceiling. "Why?"

"He did not state a reason."

"Am I allowed to override him?"

"He did mention that you could not."

Pepper stood there. She was confused as to why Tony didn't want to be disturbed. He only did that when he was planning to get drunk, a little depressed, regretting his previous actions, thinking about things, angry, or a combination of all of the above. She could override his request and go down stairs to his workshop to see what the matter was, but she would like to respect his space just as he (sometimes) respects hers.

"Just make sure Mr. Stark doesn't do anything that'll result in a 911 emergency call, okay JARVIS?" She told the AI.

"Of course Miss Potts." JARVIS responded.

Pepper quickly picked out her business attire for the day and eventually made it down the stairs before noon. She walked towards the kitchen while focusing on her e-mail inbox on her Blackberry. Once she arrived at the counter, she looked in front of her, expecting to see an empty pot of coffee, but the pot was one-fourth full. She furrowed her eyebrows. _Did Tony…Does he even know how to make coffee?_

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Did Mr. Stark make himself coffee this morning?" She pointed and stared at the dark brown liquid in front of her.

"Indeed he did."

"When did he get up this morning?"

"Approximately 7:21 AM. Is everything alright Miss Potts?"

"Um… yeah… was he called on a mission? Because—" Pepper tried to say but was abruptly cut off by the AI.

"He was not." JARVIS responded rather quickly.

"Is he okay?" She curiously asked, still staring at the pot of coffee.

"Using the scanner he implemented in my programming core, he seems to be perfectly healthy."

"Um… okay." She nodded suspiciously. "Tell Mr. Stark I'll be at Stark Industries, in my office, if he needs me."

"Of course. Is there anything else you'd like for me to tell him?"

"Tell him to call me when he has time." Pepper quickly grabbed a coffee mug and poured herself a cup. She drank the liquid rather fast in attempt to make it to her office by 1 PM. She raced out the door with her Blackberry, keys, and purse in hand.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Hm?" Tony hummed. He was sitting in front of his desk, staring blankly at the monitors in front of him.

"As requested, I have come to inform you that Miss Potts has left the premises." JARVIS announced.

"Thanks…" Tony pressed his lips together in frustration. "I didn't want to lie to her... not again, but I had to…"

"I didn't need an explanation." Natalie responded through one of the camera feeds on one of the monitors. "She's your girlfriend. What you tell her and don't tell her doesn't involve any communication of the sorts to outsiders. Especially me."

"But you're a girl—woman." He quickly corrected himself, sensing an intense glare from Natalie.

"Doesn't mean I want to discuss your romantic life, as if I actually care." She said coldly.

"Sir, as instructed, I must inform you that Miss Potts requested that you call her whenever you're available." JARVIS suddenly said.

"Thanks…" Tony muttered, feeling utterly disgusted with himself. He didn't want to lie to her about his day's tasks. But, it felt like it was necessary to since he and Natalie were in fact going on a covert mission. He wasn't taking the suit anywhere and neither did he inform Fury about their decision. He only asked Natalie early in the morning if she would accompany him in ransacking a suspect's home.

Of course, Natalie didn't know what to think when he asked her. She always thought that Rhodey and he were the best of pals. She didn't think that he would ask her before asking his best friend.

"Natalie." He called out to her.

"Yes?" She responded, looking through her monitor at her end.

"Meet me five blocks away from 156 Junabee Ave. near the coffee shop."

"Are you sure you're not going to get noticed? It's a covert operation, Tony. Not some outing with friends." She reminded him.

"We'll be fine. Just make sure you're not wearing that tight suit of yours. You'll end up attracting attention." He pressed his lips together and wound up flashing a small smile.

"Right, because the great Mr. Stark doesn't attract enough attention." Natalie sarcastically replied with an evil grin on her face.

Natalie shifted in her seat and looked over her shoulder. She whipped her head around to face Tony and quickly nodded. "Ten minutes." She told him before ending the conference call.

"Right, ten minutes…" Tony looked at the blank screen and saw his own reflection. He saw how horrible he looked. After promising Pepper that he wouldn't lie to her anymore, he immediately did it again. But he really didn't lie to her, did he? He certainly didn't tell her what he was doing or why he didn't want to be disturbed. If he strode down to his workshop and asked why he wanted to be alone, he would've told her. So, technically—

"Who am I kidding?" He muttered to himself. "A lie is a lie. It doesn't matter how I lied. It's still a lie."

Tony looked at his reflection once more before pressing his lips together in frustration. He abruptly stood up and walked towards one of his many sports cars.

"Take care of the place for the day JARVIS. I won't be home until dinner time." He swiped the keys from a nearby desk.

"Of course, Sir. Should I inform Miss Potts about your leave from the house?"

Tony stopped midway in his tracks. He didn't want her to worry… thus circling back into the whole lying predicament. "No. If she asks, tell her I'm still in my workshop… working on… stuff…"

Tony climbed into his Audi and raced off, still thinking about his last excuse. Is this what the great Tony Stark was reduced to? A lying boyfriend that can't seem to make his girlfriend happy? He still kept the same concept in his head. If he didn't inform Pepper about his activities that could physically harm her, then she was safe. But he tried that excuse last time and she still got mad at him. Did he not know how to make her happy?

Tony raced down the freeway with one hand on the wheel and the other rubbing the side of his forehead. _I want to keep her safe… yeah; I'll go with that until it backfires._ He sarcastically thought in his mind. But he did want to keep her safe. He really did. Heck, she was all that mattered to him (besides Rhodey, and the rest of the world).


	17. Chapter 17

Pepper sat at her desk in her office at Stark Industries. She was hunched over, looking over various contracts, files, and folders. It was basically her job to look over everything. She only asked Tony for signatures of she deemed the contracts worthy enough for it. She was about to look over the last contract that was in her 'in' box until the front desk called in.

Pepper looked up at her phone and saw the beeping yellow light. She pressed the button next to it and went back to reading.

"Yes?" She answered.

"Hello, Miss Potts, there is a Mr. Hardman that would like to see you." Kelly informed her.

Pepper did a double take with her mouth gaping. _Jones Hardman?_ She only though of him as the man that was assumed to be associated with Leon's disappearance… or something like that. She couldn't remember what Tony had told her. She remembered him mumbling something about him before she drifted off to sleep last night. He was probably telling her to be careful around him. _If I avoid him, he'll surely be suspicious… but if I say yes, he has the chance to kill me—he wants to kill me, right? Well of course! You're personally connected to THE Tony Stark…_

"Um, yeah. Send him in." She responded, biting her bottom lip.

Jones Hardman, dressed up in a white dress shirt, purple tie, black dress pants, and shoes, walked through the glass door of her office. His lips formed a small smile, one that made Pepper cringe.

"Hello, Miss Potts." He greeted her, sitting down in the chair that was in front of her desk.

"Hi, Mr. Hardman." She greeted back with a fake smile. She looked over at her clock and noticed the time. It was half past 5PM and Tony hadn't even called her yet. _Did JARVIS even tell him—of course he did, JARVIS is JARVIS…_

"I wanted to continue our conversation about my project." He leaned over the table, resting his elbows on the desk.

"Oh?" Pepper raised her eyebrows and pretended to be interested. "I believe you were talking about that during the charity event."

"Yes, I did." He nodded and breathed a laugh. "My team and I have actually completed the project already. I was wondering if you wanted a sneak preview." He pumped his eyebrows up and down. "It's probably better than whatever Mr. Stark shows you."

"He doesn't really show me much." She pressed her lips together to form a small and tight smile. Thinking back, Tony showed her most of his inventions because she caught him working on them without eating anything. He never really told her what they did unless she asked. But she was never _that_ curious about his inventions. She only cared about his health.

"Well then…" Hardman reached into the space next to his chair and pulled out a small silver box that looked like a block of solid metal. The edges glowed red while the center of each side glowed white. He placed it onto Pepper's desk and slid it towards her.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, staring down at the small object. "What is it?"

"It's a small device that holds a lot of power." He widened his smile. "Go on, pick it up."

Pepper looked up at him and faked another small smile. She picked it up with her index finger and thumb, and raised it up to her face. She looked at it intently and widened her eyes. She could feel the small the device hum in her hand. It was a very silent and tamed vibration—it reminded her of Tony's arc reactor in his chest. Whenever she rested her head on his chest, she could feel his arc reactor hum against her ear. It was soothing, and relaxing.

"It's really interesting." She widened her smile and placed the device back down on her desk.

Hardman picked it up and breathed another laugh. "You know what the best thing about this is?"

"Hm?" Pepper hummed, looking over at him suspiciously. "It's just a cube that holds a lot of energy, right?"

"Actually…" Hardman slowly looked up at her. "…It's much more than that."

At that single moment, Pepper's finger hovered over the red button that was underneath her desk. Tony had it installed a while back when his Iron Man announcement was made. He wanted Pepper to be able to contact him if anything ever happened to her in the office. The button was a way around the obstacle that is her Blackberry.

But she didn't even need to use the red button. At that moment, someone pushed open the glass door, making it swing open and crash against the wall next to it. Pepper's eyes trailed up and saw Tony standing there, panting heavily.

"Tony…" Pepper breathed, feeling the edges of her lips curl upwards.

"Mr. Stark." Jones Hardman whispered, still looking at Pepper.

"Stay away from her." Tony threatened, pointed his index finger at him.

Hardman turned around in his chair and widened his grin. "For what reasons? I'm not a threat—"

"I know what you've been up to, Hardman." Tony pressed his lips together in anger.

"Really, now?" He smiled up at the super hero and got up from his seat. Pepper looked past him and saw Tony's angry expression.

"You tried to get resources from Leon Industries." Tony started out. Pepper sat there, her eyes started to widen in shock. "You tried to get full access to Leon's systems because he had the solution to Project Kin."

"I don't think breaking and entering into someone's home is part of the job description of a superhero, Mr. Stark." Hardman smiled, tucking his hands into his pants pockets.

"Project Kin was originally Leon's idea, and when he came to you for your opinion, you took his idea and his resources. All you needed was for Leon to disappear for a while so that you could go in and take his resources. But you couldn't get a hold on Leon because he was always heavily guarded. So you attacked his place head on and stole his solutions."

"Actually…" Hardman's lips formed a wide smile. "… you're half right. I stole his Project Kin and used it for my own personal gain, but I didn't attack his facility, nor did I steal anything else from him."

"Then—" Tony furrowed his eyebrows and felt something in his chest tighten. He widened his eyes and stumbled backwards into the wall behind him.

"Tony!" Pepper shouted and abruptly stood up to help him but Hardman stopped her.

"If you move another inch, I'll make sure your boss doesn't live to see another day."

"…What did you do to him?" Pepper grounded out, glaring at him intently.

Hardman moved towards Tony's body and breathed a laugh. He looked over at her and smiled intently. "You people are so easy to kill."

Pepper watched his actions closely, but eventually, her eyes trailed to her boyfriend. He looked like he was trying to move. His eyes were set on Hardman.

"This device does hold energy." Hardman took the device out of his pocket and held it up. "Project Kin was originally a device that would harness energy and be able to power buildings at least fifty stories high. But I used his device to paralyze the Iron Man himself."

Hardman moved next to Tony and kicked him hard in the ribs. Tony's eyes shut close as a small groan came out from his mouth. He felt every ounce of pain that surged through his body, but he couldn't budge.

Pepper's gasped in fear and widened her eyes in surprise. She had to do something. Her phone was in her purse but her purse was under her desk, and there was no way that he would let her call anyone, let alone use her phone in general.

"This device sends vibrations through Iron Man's arc reactor that's powerful enough to paralyze his whole entire body." Hardman kneeled next to Tony's body and widened his smile. Tony sat there, glaring back up at him.

"How did you—"

"Know about the arc reactor? Some of Leon Industries' files contained Iron Man surveillance footage. I rummaged through some of Justin Hammer's files and noticed the same details. The suit is powered by the man that designed it. At first I thought it was self powered, but then that wouldn't explain why the glowing center didn't move when the chest piece moved. I came to the conclusion that Mr. Stark himself contained the arc reactor. Based off of that assumption, I modified Project Kin. I took a wild swing, so to speak, but it turns out, I was right." He tapped Tony's chest and felt a smooth surface underneath his grey cotton t-shirt.

"Please… Don't hurt him anymore." Pepper begged, pressing her lips together.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill this son of a bitch." Hardman spat, turning around in his place. He glared at the woman that stood behind the desk.

"He never did anything to you. You have no reason to do this to him—"

"I have a lot of reasons to do this to him." Hardman turned back to Tony and angrily kicked his head from the side, making Tony grunt in pain again. His body dipped to the side, making his head crash into the floor next to him. "He killed my brother."

"Tony would never kill an innocent person." Pepper practically shouted.

"How do you know?" Hardman yelled back. "My brother was in Pakistan for a couple days to cover a story about the recent bombings. He was killed when Iron Man blew up two saw factories nearby."

Both Pepper and Tony widened their eyes.

Tony laid there, thinking back to that very day. _No… that can't be possible. JARVIS said there were no civilians nearby… I didn't—I swear I didn't—_

Pepper pressed her lips together. "Even if it was Tony who did it, it was an accident. Accidents happen—"

"And what if he 'accidentally' blew up half a continent?" Hardman angrily, and sarcastically, growled. "There's no telling what this man will do to get what he wants: Power. The power to do anything he so well pleases."

"Tony isn't selfish. He isn't someone that would kill people on a whim. His intentions are good and—" Pepper was abruptly cut off.

"I don't care if he saved thousands of lives by killing thousands of people in the process. He killed an innocent man. He killed _my_ brother, and I swore I would avenge him." Hardman reached for Tony's right arm and stood up.

"What are you—" Pepper felt her palms begin to sweat. She knew what he was doing, but she couldn't do anything about it. He would kill Tony either way…

"I'm going to destroy Tony Stark from the inside out." Hardman placed his foot on Tony's side and yanked really hard. In an instant, all hell broke loose. Tony cried out in pain for several seconds. He was paralyzed but he could still feel the nerves in his arm throb in pain as his arm was dislocated. His cry in pain rang through Pepper's ears. She felt her eyes water as the sound of Tony's voice softened.

Pepper felt a sudden instance of worry wash over her. She moved away from her desk and lunged herself towards them. "Tony!—"

Hardman used the palm of his hand to shove her onto the ground. Pepper felt her butt hit the bottom of the floor hard. As pain washed through her, she looked up and saw Hardman stand over her with a knife.

"This used to be my brother's knife. He loved African rainforests. He never once spent a day without his knife. But now his body will finally rest in peace, knowing that his knife was used to kill the people that ended his life." Hardman raised the knife above his head and was about to plunge it into Pepper's stomach, but something lunged at him from behind. An arm snaked around his neck, which made him stagger backwards.

Hardman dropped the knife just as his hands reached for the forearm that was trying to choke him. He used it to his advantage and kept a tight grip on the forearm. He fell backwards and hard into the wall behind him.

Tony cried out in pain as his back came in contact with the concrete wall. His body slid down in a loud thud. Hardman turned around abruptly stepped on Tony's right arm. He cried out in pain again, feeling his dislocated arm throb over and over.

"So the device finally wore off?" He licked his lips in rage. Tony noticed how angry he was through his eyes. They were a darker shade of brown. It looked like he was out for blood.

"Stay away from Pepper." Tony finally grounded out. "She's not the one who killed your brother—"

"You're right." Hardman grabbed Tony by the collar of his cotton shirt and hoisted him up and against the wall. "You are." He breathed, and was about to strike Tony in the ribs but a loud crash came through the window behind them.

Pepper turned around and saw War Machine hovering behind them. His arm was pointed towards Hardman and Tony. A small gun was attached to it, ready to fire.

"War Machine—" Pepper breathed.

"Put him down." A voice came from the space next to Hardman. Pepper and Hardman looked to their left and saw Natalie standing there in her Black Widow outfit with a gun in her hand.

A few seconds later, ten men rushed through the glass door wearing SHEILD outfits, and surrounded the entity of the office. War Machine peered down at the man that held Tony against the wall. When he finally let Tony go, Rhodey noticed that Tony was favoring his right arm.

Hardman looked around and reluctantly raised his hands above his head. He angrily glared at the man in front of him – the man that killed his brother. The man that got away.

In an attempt to get his revenge, he lunged for the knife on the floor and reached for Pepper's hand. Pepper widened her eyes in fear as the blood thirsty man was about to thrust the knife towards her.

Tony widened his eyes in horror. He tried his best to move. _Why can't I move?_ He sat there, staring at his girlfriend that was about to get gutted like a fish. His arm throbbed again, making him wince in intense pain. _I can't even save my own girlfriend from something that Iron Man caused…_

At that moment, a shot rang out from the side. Natalie pulled the trigger of her gun and shot Hardman's right shoulder, making him instantly drop the knife. He fell forward, screaming in intense pain.


	18. Chapter 18

Pepper stood to the side with her coat around her shoulders and her purse in her hand. SHEILD took over the vicinity of the place and secured the area in a matter of seconds. She curiously looked over her shoulder and saw Tony talking to Fury. Tony was sitting in the back of an ambulance with his feet dangling over the back. It looked like he was getting scolded by Fury for his idiotic actions. She saw Tony press his lips together in frustration. Something was obviously bothering him. _Was it because of Hardman's brother?_

"Mr. Stark is okay, Miss Potts." A voice sounded next to her. Pepper snapped out of her own thoughts and glanced at the spot next to her. Agent Coulson stood there with a small smile on his face.

"I assume this was all SHEILD's plan?"

"What?" Coulson furrowed his eyebrows. "Agent Romanoff called Director Fury saying you were in danger and that Mr. Stark was going in alone, without his suit. Director Fury decided to appropriately address this situation by calling James Rhodes, seeing as how he has possession of War Machine."

"Wait—so, you guys didn't—" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows.

"Mr. Stark never told Director Fury about Jones Hardman. According to Agent Romanoff, she and Mr. Stark infiltrated Hardman's complex this afternoon in attempt to get information on Project Kin." He explained to her.

Pepper's mouth gapped in surprise. _JARVIS said that Tony didn't want to be disturbed, and I told him to tell Tony to call me when he got a chance—_

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is a valuable asset to this group and in order for us to trust him, he needs to stick with the team, not stray away from it."

"I—I didn't know Tony was going to do that… He didn't tell me anything this morning." Pepper pressed her lips together in frustration. "Not… a thing…" She muttered.

Tony walked towards the pair with Fury sternly trailing behind him. Pepper glanced over at them, feeling somewhat disappointed to hear that he had left her out of his plans yet again.

"You okay?" Tony instantly moved next to her and rubbed her back with his left hand. Pepper hesitated a bit before responding with a nod.

"Agent Coulson, we're done here. Tell everyone to pack up and head back to headquarters." Director Fury ordered.

"Of course, Sir." Agent Couslon nodded. "Good-bye Miss Potts, and Mr. Stark."

Pepper watched as Fury walked away with Coulson trailing behind him. She felt a hand snake around her waist and a pair of lips press against her strawberry colored hair. She was honestly angry for what he did to her, but could she blame him? He literally risked his arm for her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her again.

"Are you okay? Your arm—" She gestured towards his arm that was resting in a blue sling that was wrapped around his other shoulder. She looked up at him and saw his soft brown eyes staring down at her.

"I'm fine, Peps." His lips formed a small smile. "The EMT said my shoulder and my ribs should be fine in a few months."

"You shouldn't do any strenuous activity for a few weeks." She told him, staring down at her purse.

"You honestly think I can keep myself away from my workshop?" He smiled, trying to make her cheer up.

Pepper's lips formed a small smile but immediately retreated to a frown. She was still looking down at her purse. Tony surveyed her for a few seconds before sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." He suddenly apologized.

She whipped her head around to face him and furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? You were trying your best to—"

"But I couldn't do anything to keep him away from you." He heavily sighed again. "Pepper, I'm supposed to keep you safe. It's why I became Iron Man in the first place. To save innocent lives…" His face fell in disappointment. His arm slid off of her back to rest in his lap. He looked down at the ground and felt Pepper nudge his left arm.

"It's not your fault, Tony." She tried to sooth him. "Hardman was probably just trying to shake you up—"

"It _is_ my fault, Pepper. I made sure no one was down there before I blew up those two factories." Tony walked away from her grasp. He felt awful... He felt useless. "I killed an innocent person—and I almost lost _you_." He looked up, feeling miserable, and disappointed in himself. "You could've died because of me."

"Don't blame yourself for what happened, Tony."

"How can I not?" He practically yelled at her. "How can I _not_ feel responsible for what happened today?"

"You're not perfect. No one is." She tried to get him to see the brighter side.

"If I can't protect you—"

"Don't." Pepper sternly stopped him. "You don't get to say anything right now." Anger boiled in her blood. She was still thinking about how Tony practically lied to her.

"Pepper—"

"When exactly were you going to tell me about your little adventure with Natasha?" She angrily asked him.

"I didn't want you to worry about me—" He tried to tell her but she cut him off again.

"Don't tell me that bullshit again."

"I didn't want to put you in harm's way."

"You're Iron Man!" She shouted at him. "When am I not in danger?"

Tony looked up at her and saw the glossy coating over her eyes. In a matter of milliseconds, tears started to form.

"I love you so much, Tony." She began to mutter. "When you don't tell me anything, it feels like you don't even trust me."

Those five words made his heart warm up. He honestly felt happy to hear her say those words to him, but it didn't help their current fight. He still felt awful for putting Pepper's life in danger. "I do trust you, Pepper. I trust you with my life." He tried to reassure her.

"Then why didn't you tell me about this afternoon?"

"I told you already… I didn't want you to worry about me." He repeated.

"That isn't a valid excuse." She angrily told him.

"Then I'm honestly out of excuses, Pepper." He sternly looked up at her. "There are some things that I can and cannot tell you. If I tell you, it feels like whatever happens next will be my fault. The thought of you dying because of me makes my heart ache."

"Do you love me?"

"What?" He knew what she said, he just wasn't sure if he heard her right.

"Do you?" She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for his answer. Tony stood there with his eyes widening. Of course he loved her, but not once in his life has he ever told that to anyone—except for his parents.

"I—"

"You're stupid, you know that, Tony?"

Tony and Pepper looked to their right to see War Machine standing there with his visor up. Rhodey smiled at the pair with delight.

"How are you two doing?" Rhodey walked towards them.

"You always know when to crash a conversation at the wrong time, Rhodey." Tony flashed a small smile at him. Pepper smirked a bit before staring back down at her feet. Tony glanced over at her form. He knew he would have to tell her his answer sooner or later.

"I called Happy just now. He's coming to pick you guys up."

Pepper's head popped back up. "Thanks, Rhodey." She smiled in his direction.

"So, that's it?" Rhodey asked the pair.

"Hm?" Tony hummed in confusion.

"It's over? The bad evil villain is gone and done with?"

"I highly doubt it." Tony responded. "Hardman's actions don't explain Leon's disappearance or the attack at Leon Industries."

"Care to explain, Tony?" Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe another day." He widened his smile at his friend. Tony looked over at Pepper and noticed how distant she was from him. He wanted to move towards her and wrap a protective arm around her shoulders. He wanted to comfort her for the rest of the night, but he wasn't sure about their relationship anymore. He lied to her again, and it almost cost him their relationship. She was obviously pissed off at him about it.

He didn't even resume their conversation when Happy arrived and Rhodey blasted off. Five minutes in the limo ride back to his house and they were already giving each other the silent treatment—Pepper was actually giving him the silent treatment. Tony actually wanted to set things right with her. An empty seat separated them from each other. They were in the very back of the limo. They were each looking out of their own window, but Tony glanced at her every so often.

He didn't want to leave things like this. If he didn't talk to her now, they would be stuck in this state until one of them had the nerve to talk to the other person. Pepper wouldn't give in that easily. Tony would, because he couldn't go a day without talking to her, or knowing how she was feeling.

"Happy, could you give us some privacy?" Tony asked the driver.

"Sure thing, boss." Happy pressed a button on the ceiling. A dark tinted window slid up from the section behind him, giving Tony and Pepper their space.

Pepper still looked out her window, acting like she didn't hear Tony's request. He glanced over at her and eventually let out a heavy sigh.

"I admit that I've left you out of my plans more than once." He started out, but she didn't turn to face him. "And I know you're my personal assistant, but you're much more than that to me."

She still didn't budge.

"You're the reason why I make it back alive from all of those missions Fury keeps sending me on. You're the reason why I've changed and why I can finally smile every day. You're the one person that I thought would get away. I thought you were going to run off with Rhodey or Happy and live happily ever after – no pun intended."

This time, Pepper turned her head to glance at him. She noticed how closer he was getting. He managed to scoot towards her with every sentence that came out of his mouth.

"I know I sometimes don't act like I care about you – or your feelings – but I do, Pepper. I really do." He widened his smile. "You're the only person, besides my parents, that can actually get these feelings out of me. Before you, before Iron Man, I've never opened up to anyone. I've been a first degree ass to everyone, including Rhodey, but you were different – I mean, I've been an ass to you before, what with the hot women that I keep on bringing back to my bedroom—"

"Just finish what you were going to say." She sternly interrupted him. Pepper felt his arm snake around her waist, and his hand that rested firmly on her hip. He drummed his right arm's fingers gently against his stomach, wishing there was an easier way to say everything to her.

"You're all I look forward to in the morning." He pressed his lips together, carefully searching her face for a response. "And I know I'm still an ass to you, but trust me, I'm working on it."

"But that's why I'm angry at you, Tony. How can I trust you when you won't tell me anything?" She folded her arms across her chest.

He rubbed her hip with his hand before giving it a gentle squeeze. "Is this about that time I didn't tell you I was dying, because I'm not—?"

"No!" She exclaimed, making him retract his arm from her waist. "It started there!"

"What—"

"I don't want to be a burden to you." She pressed her lips together in frustration. "I want to help you in every and any way possible. When you don't tell me things that involve Iron Man or infiltration, it makes me feel like I'm useless to you."

"You're not useless, Pepper—"

"Then stop making me feel like I am." She snapped back at him.

Tony hung his head low and heavily sighed. He opened his heart to her and she shot him down. He understands why she's so pissed off, but it didn't help their relationship. A part of him tore up inside when she resumed her normal position and angrily looked out the window.

"I'm sorry." He muttered before pressing a gentle kiss to her temple.

She felt his soft lips press against the side of her forehead and eventually turned to face him, but noticed that he retreated back to his spot, a seat away from her, and looked out of his own window. She bit her bottom lip and gloomily looked out of her window. The rest of the limo ride was silent. Neither one of them thought to bring up another failed conversation in hopes of making amends.

When they had arrived back at Tony's mansion, he immediately retreated to his workshop, while she retreated back to her apartment. They both slept in their own beds, missing each other's company. They both laid there, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.

**A/N: Please review! I know I've been MIA for a while. College, League of Legends, and midterms got the best of me. I honestly think I failed my Biology final… I think everyone failed it, lol. But at least I got to go to Fox Studios and visit the Bones set. Everything was under dust covers, and it was dark. But they left a nice little present for me: the finale's body and how the person died. From far away, it looked absolutely disgusting.**


	19. Chapter 19

The next morning came fairly slowly. Pepper did her usual routine: woke up, took a shower, got dressed, fixed herself something to eat, and got in her car to start her day's tasks. She didn't think twice when she got up, mostly because she thought her relationship with Tony was fairly stable, despite their recent argument.

He was always in her mind after that incident. Seeing Jones Hardman dislocate Tony's right arm right in front of her gave her nightmares. Last night, she could barely sleep. Every single time she closed her eyes, she could hear Tony screaming in pain. Her eyes would snap open in fear. To be honest, she wanted to drive over to his house to see how he was doing, but when that thought raced through her mind, it was already 4AM.

She didn't think it affected her that much until she tried going to sleep. She even remembered when she told her that she loved him. Pepper could make out every single phrase of their conversation, that is, before Rhodey interrupted Tony. She was certain he was going to say it back to her, but their ride back to his house was so unpleasant that it didn't happen.

_Honestly, Pepper, how can you expect him to say the 'L' word so freely? He has never been in a long time relationship nor has he had a record of committing to them._ Thoughts raced through Pepper's mind like bullets as she drove down the freeway. _Don't expect him to say it so easily… you'll just end up disappointing yourself._

Her train of thought ended when she drove up the driveway of Tony's house. She opened the door, swung her legs out of the car, gathered her belongings and stood up. She closed the door with her bottom and locked it with a press of a button. She walked towards the front door and eventually opened it. As a reflex, she got working on her Blackberry and mindlessly said, "Morning, JARVIS."

There was no response, only the sound of the wind.

"JARVIS?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She plopped her belongings on the couch in the living room and made her way down the stairs to Tony's workshop.

She glanced through the glass walls and saw Tony hunched over his suit. His arm was still in its sling. It was hanging on the side; the hand was resting against his stomach.

Tony heard her punch in her code right before her heels started to click against the concrete surface of the workshop.

"Hey…" She called after him.

He glanced over at her form and immediately went back to work. "Hi."

"Um… JARVIS—"

"I turned him off for some upgrades."

"I thought—" She got cut off again.

"I thought he could use a scrub today." He quickly responded, trying to twist the screwdriver into one of the nails in the suit with only his left hand.

"Oh…" She breathed and crossed her arms across her chest. She carefully watched his form and noticed how his left hand was lightly shaking. "Tony, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." He quickly answered again with his back still turned.

"Your hand—"

"I'm just trying to get used to this." He put the screw driver down on the metal cart next to him and reached for the flashlight. He clicked it on and flashed it into the interior of the metal chest casing of the suit. Pepper heard him heavily sigh, followed by a few curse words, before grabbing the screwdriver again.

"I actually came down here to talk to you…" She pressed her lips together lightly, still unaware of their stance in their relationship.

"…About?" He hesitated, carefully glancing back at her.

"About yesterday, last night, in the limo." Her hands rubbed the other arm's elbows; feeling a bit nervous about their future conversation, or if they even have a future conversation.

"What is there to talk about?" He grumbled. "You're clearly pissed at me because of what I did, and frankly, I don't blame you."

"Are you trying to pin this on me, now?" She snapped back. "… because—"

"Pepper!" He shouted, turning around in his chair. Pepper jumped at his sudden shouting and almost angrily snapped back at him, but when she saw how red and puffy his eyes were, she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing earlier.

_He had been crying? Why would Tony be crying?_ "Tony—"

"I didn't sleep last night…" He muttered, cutting her off. Tony tossed the screwdriver into the metal cart behind him and sat there, hunched over with his left hand propping up his head. "…I couldn't. After you left, I tried to fix the suit. I tried to upgrade JARVIS."

"Why—"

"Because it's the only thing that can keep me busy." He snapped back, looking up at her. All of the pain and anguish he had been through for the past few hours was now visible. Pepper always knew how he felt through his movements, but mostly through his eyes. Those chocolate brown saucers always made her vulnerable. _But why was he crying?_

"Pepper, I'm so useless right now that it hurts. I can't do anything with just my left arm. I tried using my other arm and it hurt like shit. It felt like knives were stabbing me in the shoulder… that's when I took JARVIS offline. It was well past your bedtime, and he suggested that I call you. But I didn't want to bother you… not after what happened yesterday." He explained. He was still hunched over but his arm could no longer hold up his head due to the weight of pain and guilt that tied it down. "It took me five hours to write code for JARVIS' upgrade. It usually takes me ten minutes. It took me more than seven hours to fix and upgrade one arm of the suit, and it usually takes me less than an hour."

Pepper stood there with a small frown on her face. She hated seeing him like this. Tony was giving up so easily. He had lost faith in himself because of his arm. He even blamed himself for what happed yesterday; he blamed himself for not being able to save her from Hardman. He was slowly slipping away from her grasp, and it was her responsibility to help him get back on his feet.

"You're not useless, Tony."

"How can you say that?" He wiped his eyes with his hand and turned away. "I couldn't save you. I can't upgrade JARVIS or fix the suit without losing sleep—"

"Hey…" She bent over and placed her finger underneath his chin to raise his head up so that he faced her. His eyes were still red and puffy, and the corners of his eyes were watery. He looked at her with a painful expression. "You're not useless. You can't blame yourself for what happened yesterday, _and_ you can't blame yourself for being out of your element."

"Pepper…" He tried to look away but she gently led his head back to face her again.

"I meant what I said yesterday." She carefully told him. "I do love you. You care about innocent people, you save them—"

"I _thought_ I saved them…" He tried to ignore her last comment. He vividly remembered her asking him if he loved her.

She let go of his chin. "Hardman's brother isn't an exception, I know that much, but you can't regret any of your actions, Tony. You save billions of lives everyday."

"But I almost cost _you_ your life. And that's the one thing I wanted to protect, with all of my being." He sniffed, trying to look away.

"You're not going to lose me." She placed her hand gently against his cheek. She felt his head endearingly rest against it while warm tears of anguish came in contact with her palm.

"I'm so sorry, Pepper." He mumbled, tears still rolling down his cheeks.

"Don't be." Pepper cupped his face with both of her hands and gently pressed her lips against his. He lightly kissed her back with the thought of losing her still lingering in his head. He hated the idea, no, he despised it. He couldn't even think of a life without her, without _his_ Pepper. As they kissed like it was their first time, she felt the corners of his lips curl upwards. His smile was like the flu. With in seconds, she found herself smiling against his kiss, and as she pulled back, she felt his warm forehead rest against her own.

"I'm sorry I lied to you… _again_." He whispered to her; his eyes were still shut.

Pepper opened her eyes and felt his good hand against her waist. He put pressure on her hip, wanting to pull her into a hug. She felt his actions and lightly laughed. She stood up, pushed herself towards him and wrapped her arms around his head, pressing him against her stomach.

"It's okay."

After a couple hours of talking to each other, both of them admitted that they made mistakes they weren't proud of. Tony apologized for lying to her, and Pepper apologized for getting mad at him for what now seemed like nothing. They sat on the couch in the workshop. Pepper was sitting down and Tony was lying down with his head in her lap. Both of his arms were resting against his stomach. Pepper held on to his right hand with her own while her other hand played with the hairs on his head. She ran his hand through his hair many times over while Tony laid there, feeling content and sleepy.

His eyes fluttered lightly, feeling sleep overcome his body. He looked straight up and saw Pepper smiling down at him, focusing on the hairs that were in the way of his handsome face.

"That feels nice." He smiled, feeling her hand move some hair out of his face.

"You should rest." Pepper muttered. "You haven't slept in a while."

"Will you?" He asked her while his eyes still fluttered.

"Huh?" She asked in confusion, smiling lightly.

"Will you be there when I wake up?"

Pepper widened her smile and played with the hairs on the nape of his neck. She didn't know why he had to ask her that question. Was it because he still blamed himself for what happened yesterday? Or, was it because she left him last night without saying good-bye, or an I'll see you tomorrow. He didn't actually think she would just leave him like that, did he?

"Of course I'll be here when you wake up." She responded, watching his eye lids slowly close.

"I… lo—" Before he could finish his sentence, he fell into a deep sleep. Pepper knew what he was going to say, and part of her wish he didn't. Part of her wanted him to just sleep soundly without having to make it up to her.

In the back of her head, she thought he was just saying it because he _had to._ She had almost hoped that he wouldn't remember what he had _almost_ said.


	20. Chapter 20

"Good afternoon, Sir. It's 10:30AM, May 15th, 2011. It's currently 63 degrees Celsius outside. If you go outside, I suggest you wear a warm sweatshirt or coat. It's a lovely day to go shopping in Malibu or Santa Monica. Would you like me to read you the newspaper?" JARVIS announced.

His words rang through Tony's ears, making him flutter his eyes open in confusion. He quickly sat up straight, eyes wide and crusty, as he wondered where he was. Underneath his palm, he felt the silky and soft sheets. He looked down, and then around himself before coming to the conclusion that he was sleeping in his bed.

_10AM, did I literally sleep for a day?... Wait, was it all a dream?_ He questioned himself and tried to lift his right arm but only felt pain shoot up. He hissed and winced in pain. When he looked over at his arm, it was still in its blue sling. It hit him like a bullet train. "JARVIS, is Pepper here?"

He remembered bits and pieces of their conversation last night, just before sleep overcame him. He remembered asking her if she would be here when he woke up, and she told him that she would. _If she's not here, then it was all a dream, right?_

"Miss Potts is downstairs. She's preparing your meal." The AI responded.

"Thanks…" Tony breathed. _Okay, so it wasn't a dream? Only one way to find out._

He swung his legs out from under the sheets and off the bed. He stood up and noticed the change in his attire. He was wearing a white cotton t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. _I don't remember…_

He furrowed his eyebrows and decided to ignore. Tony walked down the stairs and stopped at the foot of the stairs. Before his very eyes was a beautiful red headed woman that was making trips back and forth in the kitchen. His lips formed a small smile when he noticed her change in attire as well.

She was wearing a spaghetti strapped blue tank top and a pair of navy blue sweat pants. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail, as usual.

Tony carefully walked towards her and eventually stopped at the threshold of the kitchen. She glanced over at him and began to smile.

"Morning." She greeted him, pouring a cup of orange juice. She handed it to him and he gladly took it.

"Thanks." He took a sip of the bright orange liquid. He watched her fry a few eggs before hesitantly asking her about last night. "Hey… um…"

"Hm?" She hummed, carefully watching the eggs sizzle.

"Um… thanks… for last night." He looked down at his cup before looking back up at her.

She turned her head and smiled. "No problem."

"I'm sorry about—"

"You need to stop apologizing, Tony." She breathed a laugh. "We both did some stupid stuff. Let's just admit that we're both the dumb ones in this relationship, okay?"

Tony widened his smile and didn't protest. "Okay." He walked towards her and carefully wrapped his good arm around her waist. He pressed her against his body and rested his chin in the crook of her neck. He inhaled her scent and thought of how thankful he was to have her by his side. She widened her smile at his endearing displays of affection before preparing the eggs that were in the frying pan. He pressed a light and tender kiss against her cheek before releasing his hold on her.

"Fury wanted to talk to us today, by the way." He practically blurted.

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows for a few seconds. "… What about?"

"About Hardman and whatever that pirate found out. He said he got some useful information out of him." Tony reached up into a cabinet and reached for two plates. He placed them on the counter and closed the cabinet door. Pepper turned off the stove and brought the pan full of eggs over to the counter.

"Can you go get the bacon? They're in the microwave." She nudged him with her elbow. "Useful information?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded. He walked over to the microwave and took the plate of greasy and delicious bacon out. He handed it to Pepper before closing the microwave door. He leaned against the counter with his back pressing against the cool grey marble granite. "Um, I know I shouldn't be asking this since it's usually a question after a drunken mess…"

Pepper carefully glanced over at him in confusion and worry.

"But… what happened yesterday?" He looked over at her and eventually caught her gaze.

"You don't remember?" She asked, placing two pieces of bacon on each plate.

"I remember lying down on the couch with my head on your lap. After that…" He shrugged.

"Do you remember our conversation?"

"Last thing I remember was asking you if you'd still be there when I woke up." He widened his smile. "And thank god you are. I don't know what I'd do without you."

_So, he doesn't remember that he almost said he loved me? I don't know whether I should be happy or sad…_ A frown spread on Pepper's face for a split second. She caught herself and immediately faked a smile. "It's good to know my presence is appreciated."

Tony breathed a laugh before pressing another kiss on her cheek. He rounded her waist with his arm and took his plate of food before pulling away. Blush spread across her face as she spread the last portion of eggs on her own plate. He always had a way of charming her.

He rounded the corner and sat down at the living room table. He placed his plate on the wooden surface while Pepper handed him a fork and a napkin. She sat down next to him and scooped up a fork full of eggs.

"So, how did I end up in my own bed after I knocked out on the couch yesterday?" He asked her while stuffing his face with the delicious food in front of him. "Please don't tell me you hauled me upstairs."

"Rhodey helped." She blatantly said.

Tony stopped eating and slowly looked at her. "Rhodey was here?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "He stopped by a few minutes after you knocked out. He wanted to make sure we were okay."

"Did he make any snide remarks about me sleeping?" Tony grimaced. _It sounds like something Rhodey would do…_

"He asked why you were sleeping on my lap, and why your eyes were puffy and red." She took a bite out of the bacon in front of her. "I had to explain him what happened."

"What'd you tell him?"

"That you were getting frustrated and started to feel useless. I spared him the kissing part since he had already greeted us as 'the seals'." She glanced over at him and saw his lips form a small smile. "He asked if I needed help lugging you upstairs. I was going to let you sleep on the couch but Rhodey's offer deemed more appropriate."

"And my clothes?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrow, trying to infer something sexual.

"After Rhodey left, I changed your shirt and pants because the clothes you had on had grease stains all over it." She was frank with her explanation, and ignored his signs of innuendo.

"Wait—did you sleep over?"

"Yeah. I was taking care of some e-mails. JARVIS came online a few hours after you fell asleep. He helped me take care most of them—and in case you were wondering, I did sleep in the same bed as you last night. I didn't sleep in the guestroom." She shot down any innuendos he had saved up.

"I wasn't—" He tried to tell her.

"By the way, you talk a lot in your sleep." Her lips formed a devilish smile.

"What?" His mouth gapped. "What did I say?"

"Sir, Director Fury is on line one—"

"No!" Tony shouted at the ceiling before looking back down at Pepper. "What did I say?"

"You don't want to keep Fury waiting, do you?" Pepper scooted her chair out and stood up to go put her empty plate in the sink. Tony sat there grumbling like an angry troll.

"If it's about that time I pants'd Rhodey in the ladies room, it was because we were both drunk." He shouted across the room.

Pepper poked her head out and started to chuckle. "I assure you, it wasn't about _that_."

_Crap_. "Was it about the time I hired strippers to tee-pee Rhodey's house?" He stood up from his chair and walked towards the kitchen.

"Rhodey and you have the weirdest adventures." She raised her eyebrow at him and proceeded to widen her smile. She was standing in front of the sink, scrubbing the plates with a soap soaked sponge. He handed her his plate before smirking.

"That's because you weren't there, yet." He nudged her with his good arm.

"Please tell me these things happened out of sheer boredom." She pressed her lips together in curiosity.

"Oh, they happened out of boredom alright. We were both, well, I was mainly bored in college. Rhodey just happened to be there in the crossfire." He widened his smile and glanced over at Pepper. "So, what did I say in my sleep? Was I having a wet dream?"

Pepper closed her eyes in disgust. "Tony, you should go and answer Director Fury's call before Agent Romanoff comes in here and _makes_ you answer him."

"But… I'm in my pajamas." He frowned at her, pushing his bottom lip out, and using his deep brown eyes to charm her.

"Tony…" She angrily grumbled.

"Fine…" He muttered, walking out the kitchen and towards the staircase that led to his workshop. He stopped midway and looked behind him. "You're coming, right?"

"Yeah, after I get dressed." She responded with a sly smile.

"Hey!" He shouted back. "If you get to change, then I get to change!"

"It's not polite for a woman of my sorts to attend a conference call in a tank top and sweatpants." She told him before widening her smile.

"Well then," He pressed his lips together and began to mock her. "It's not polite for a man of my sorts to attend a conference call in a t-shirt and sweatpants."

"Oh, can it, Stark. You're in no shape to move your arm, so you have an excuse to answer his conference call in sweatpants." She shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Jeeze," Tony began to grumble. "I can't even change my clothes in my own house." He walked down the staircase and made his way towards the glass door. Once he punched in his access code, the workshop lights lit up, and highlighted his way towards his desk, suits, tools, and cars. "Daddy's back." He announced.

Dummy rolled over with a cup of coffee in his robotic claws.

Tony looked down at him and smiled. "Aw, Dummy, you shouldn't have. Usually Pepper is the one that makes me coffee—"

"I wouldn't drink it, Sir." JARVIS suddenly sprang in. "Dummy couldn't find the coffee can, so he used whatever he could find that could resemble coffee."

"And he used…?" Tony curiously looked down at the cup of brown liquid that he held in his grasp.

"Oil grease."

Tony looked down at Dummy and then at the cup. He faked a smile and patted Dummy on the claw. "Um… thanks, Dummy. But I think Pepper's delicious breakfast did me in." He walked over to his desk while carefully handling the cup of 'coffee'. He set it down on the desk before snapping his fingers together.

"C'mon, boys. Wake up, wake up. Just because I only have one arm doesn't mean you get a break." He said solemnly. The glass monitors lit up like Christmas lights. Each screen showed separate current events. The news was on one chunk of the monitors while the stock market was on another chuck of the monitors. He glanced at them both and noticed the drop in Stark Industries' stocks.

"The recent attacks at Stark Industries caused the stocks to drop, Sir. Miss Potts was informed yesterday."

"Is Fury still on line one?" He asked sternly, ignoring the stock report.

"Yes." The AI responded.

"Patch me through."

One of the monitors blinked before showcasing Fury and Agent Romanoff in, what looked like, a conference meeting room.

"Ah, well if it ain't Mr. Stark. The hero who went, alone, guns uh blazin', into a room where a psychotic and angry CEO was, and not to mention holding Miss Potts hostage." The director greeted him.

Tony faked a wide smile. What Fury said actually hit a nerve. He shouldn't have talked about his personal assistance like that. Fury knew how he felt about her, and he knew how much her life meant to him. _He shouldn't have said that._ "What did you want, Fury?"

"Where's your girlfriend?" He blatantly asked.

"Here." Pepper strolled in, in a black business suit and black high heels. Tony ogled her, up and down, before smiling up at her.

"Do you feel more appropriate now that you're attending this conference call in a business suit?" He taunted her.

Pepper smacked his head with her hand and angrily smiled down at him. "Do you seriously want to poke fun of me right now, Stark?"

"You're cute when you're angry and abusive." He giggled.

She rolled her eyes at him before looking up at the monitors. "Okay, I'm here. What did you want to tell us?"

"First thing's first." Fury started out, eyeing the pair. Natasha stood by his side, carefully glancing Tony and then at Fury. "Do you think that you killed Hardman's brother?"

"Yeah." Tony responded, almost hesitantly. Pepper glanced down at him with a small compassionate frown. "Hardman said he was caught in an explosion that emanated from two saw factories in—"

"So, you take full responsibility for what happened to him?" Fury cut him off.

"Of course I do. I even checked with JARVIS, and asked him if there were any civilians on the ground." He responded rather quickly.

"Agent Romanoff did a full extensive research report on Jones Hardman's brother, Elias Hardman." He glanced over at Natalie.

"Right." She nodded. "Research and reports indicate that Elias Hardman died a year ago from two factories that blew up in Pakistan. The factories weren't saw factories, they were factories that created metal casings for bullets. The factory had horrible fumes running through it almost twenty four-seven. A drunk driver rammed through one of the factories but ended up taking both out. His brother _was_ covering a report on it."

"A year ago?" Tony widened his eyes, almost in relief.

"Approximately three months before Iron Man even existed." She pressed her lips together before looking at Director Fury.

Fury stood there, unfazed. "Now that we've cleared your conscious – we have more pressing matters to discuss." He paused. "Matters that involve Greg Leon."

Tony and Pepper perked up, giving Fury and Natalie a surprised look.

Natalie handed Fury a manila folder that contained various papers. He rummaged through them before reading a section. "For starters," He looked up at the pair, "Greg Leon is dead."

"What?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows, almost in shock and fear. "That's not possible—"

"Oh, it's possible alright." Fury cut her off. He gave the manila folder back to Natalie before continuing. "Agent Coulson and his men found him lying in his own pool of blood, in an apartment not far from his home."

"What does this mean?" Tony crossed his arms over his chest.

"It means that Greg Leon is dead. Were you not paying attention a second ago?" Fury angrily asked him, almost jokingly.

"It means something, Fury. It always means something." He spat back.

"Tony is right. His death _should_ mean something." Pepper chimed in.

"What could it possibly mean then?" Fury shifted his gaze between the couple. "Please, humor me. What could it possibly mean?"

"Whoever murdered Leon is obviously after _something_." Tony grumbled, trying to think to himself.

"Something that doesn't concern you until you're back on duty." Fury pointed at him. "You're suspended from SHIELD and missions until your arm heals, you got that?"

"What?" Tony practically shouted. "I can still help!—"

"You are _not_ getting in the crossfire of _this_." Fury reprimanded him. "Until we figure out who murdered Leon and for what reason, the both of you are under strict SHIELD surveillance."

Pepper looked at Fury suspiciously. "We don't even know if the murderer is a threat—"

"He is a threat." Natalie immediately cut her off.

Fury angrily glanced at Natalie. Natalie looked away, almost in shame. "You and Tony are strictly prohibited to get involved until further notice."

"What—but—" Pepper tried to convince him otherwise but it didn't work.

"If I see a suit in the air _while_ you're on suspension, you'll see a side of me that doesn't come out often." Fury threatened Tony before ending the conference call. The screen went pitch black. The glossy monitor showcased Tony and Pepper's reflection. Pepper stared at the screen with her mouth gapped, while Tony stood there with his arm crossed over his chest and lying on top of his right arm. They were both quite angry at the unsuspecting orders.

"How could he just suspend you like that?" Pepper almost angrily shouted.

"That's Fury for you." Tony pressed his lips together and sweetly looked at her.

"Aren't you angry?"

"I can't even fix the suit properly with one arm. He's right to suspend me." He said, looking behind him, and watching Pepper angrily look away. "Besides, when Fury says we're under strict surveillance, he really means it."

"What do you mean by that?" She eyed him carefully.

Tony turned around to face her and flashed a small smile. "Trust me; he's put me under surveillance before. I was testing out the suit's repulsions and before I knew it, a swarm of SHIELD soldiers strolled in with their assault rifles."

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at him. "Why did they put you under surveillance?"

"Long story short, I ignored Fury's calls for a while." A sly smirk appeared on his face. He walked over to the wall that showcased his past suits and glanced up at them in astonishment.

"Well, I can't say that's not the smartest thing you've done." She dryly added.

"We should take advantage of this opportunity." He turned around and walked towards her with that sly smile still on his face.

"To…?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"To catch up."

"Catch up on…?"

"On dates." He widened his smile. "I'm pretty sure we've only been on two. I still have eighteen more to go."

Pepper rolled her eyes at him and walked towards the glass door in annoyance. "I can't believe you actually remembered about that, even after what happened a couple days ago."

"How can you ignore your girlfriend's promise to dress up in Iron Man lingerie on the twentieth date?" He stood there with a devious smile, watching her walk away.

"Hey – I never said I _promised._" She teased him, turning around, and leaning against the glass door.

He whipped his head around to face her and immediately gave her a pouting look. "B-but… I'm injured." He gestured towards his right arm that was still in its blue sling.

"I'll see you later, Tony." She deadpanned, flashing him a small smile before opening the glass door.

"Do you want to see a movie tonight?" He asked her, right before she was about to exit his workshop.

She turned around and saw him standing there, completely nonchalant and content. She looked up and him and widened her smile. "Maybe."

"Please?" He almost begged with those puppy dog eyes of his. Pepper had to look away when he pouted. He always got what he wanted because of that adorable face of his. She eyed him carefully, eventually nodding.

"Okay." She huffed. "But, I won't be back from the office until after 7PM."

"That's fine." He grinned, walking towards her. "It'll give me ample time to burn the kitchen more than once in attempt to make some popcorn." He stopped in front of the door and leaned against the frame. Pepper's wide grin made him feel warm inside. He loved it when she smiled. He loved it when she was happy, period. It was like fighting a dragon with only your fists whenever she was angry. But an angry Pepper was still cute.

"Only you could burn the kitchen down more than once in a single hour." She leaned against the door frame and gently pressed her lips against his. He used his good arm and gripped her hip, pressing her against his body. She giggled against his lips and slowly pulled away. She looked up at him and saw a charming smile form on his face.

"You can't work here?" He was beginning to frown.

"Kelly says I have a lot of files in my inbox." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a chaste kiss in the lips.

"Then tell her to dump them in your outbox." He whispered jokingly.


	21. Chapter 21

Pepper walked through the front door with her purse hanging off her shoulder and collected papers filling her arms. She tapped the door behind her to close it and carefully walked over to the couch to set her belongings down. She looked behind her and saw the kitchen perfectly clean. _I thought Tony said we were going to watch a movie tonight._ She thought to herself as she walked towards the kitchen. She shrugged it off and opened the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water. She bent over and carefully inspected the fridge's contents. She eyed the bottle of water, and quickly took a swig of it.

"Miss Potts?" JARVIS asked.

She capped her drink. "Yes, JARVIS?" She responded.

"Mr. Stark is summoning you in his workshop."

"Okay. I'll be there soon." _Summoning?_ She decided to take her bottle of water with her. Her heels clicked down the stairs efficiently enough to alert Tony. He looked behind the glass door and saw her punch in her access code.

A small smile swept across his face as her clicking heels echoed throughout the workshop.

"Hi." She greeted him with a small smile across her face.

"Hi." He casually walked over to her to give her a kiss on the cheek. "How was work?"

"Depends on how you look at it." She held her bottle of water in front of her. "Want some?"

"Nah, you've got cooties." He joked, taking the bottle from her. She rolled her eyes at him before she saw him practically down the whole bottle. "Thanks." He placed the bottle back in her hand.

"Thirsty?" She chuckled.

"I fixed some of the suit while you were in the office." He announced, walking towards the couches, with Pepper trailing behind him.

"Oh, and how'd that go?"

"It was… interesting, to say the least." He plopped down on the couch with a soft thud, and gestured beside him.

"Did you even make popcorn?" She glanced over at the kitchen and saw no mess.

"Did you want me to burn down the house, again?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Fine. I'll make it." She smiled in his direction before walking over to the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinets and had to get on her tippy toes to reach the box of packets of popcorn. She brought the box down and closed the cabinet door. She unraveled one of the popcorn packets and placed it into the microwave. She pressed the popcorn button and began to throw away the wrapping. "You do know, there is a popcorn button on the microwave."

"Must've slipped my mind during all those times I've failed at making popcorn." He smirked, turning his head to watch her.

"Please tell me you didn't burn down the house just to get my attention." She huffed, carefully eyeing him.

He looked away, almost guiltily. "No?"

"Oh my god, Tony." She pressed her lips together.

"You were always at the office…" He pouted.

"Yeah, because that's where I work."

"Well, I'm a billionaire, so fixing the house didn't take a notch off my bank account – _and_ I have you now. So you don't have to worry about burnt houses – unless I have an intense urge to cook something." His lips formed a small smile before turning to face her. She stood there with her hands resting on her hip and her mouth crooked in a disappointing fashion.

"You're incorrigible." She finally breathed.

"Aw, don't say that Peppy." He frowned.

_Peppy?_ She furrowed her eyebrows, while staring at the microwave. The microwave dinged. Pepper opened the microwave door and carefully grabbed the hot bag of popcorn out of the microwave. She set it down on the counter and rummaged through the cabinets for a bowl. Once she found a red plastic bowl, she carefully opened the bag and poured the buttery popcorn into it. She threw the greasy bag into the garbage can next to her and carefully walked towards the couch.

Tony sat there with his sling'd arm resting on his stomach and his good arm at his side.

"So, what movie are we watching?" Pepper rounded the couch and mindlessly sat down next to him, thus putting pressure on his injured arm.

Tony winced in pain. "Ow, ow, Pepper—you're sitting on—" He tried to tell her. Pepper immediately got up in worry and noticed that she was sitting against his right arm. He sat there, with his eyes closed, trying to withstand the pain.

"Oh god, Tony, I'm sorry – I—"

He cut her off and flashed a small smile. "It's okay. I'm fine."

Pepper stood there, with the bowl of popcorn shaking in her hands. She hated seeing him in pain. It's why she always patched him up. She didn't like seeing him enduring the pain – the pain he had to go through because he wanted to, not because he was forced to.

"No—you know what, I'm tired. I bet you're tired, too. Why don't we just continue this tomorrow night? I can make dinner and—"

Tony patted the spot next to him. "Come here."

Pepper solemnly frowned at him and looked down at the bowl of popcorn. She pressed her lips together and carefully sat down next to him, on his good side. He protectively wrapped his good arm around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

He knew what she was thinking when she heard how ragged his breathing was, and when he told her – no, practically begged her to move. Tony squeezed her waist and gently rubbed it.

"I'm fine, Pepper." He finally told her.

Pepper kept her gaze on the bowl in front of her. "I didn't mean to—"

"I know." He tenderly kissed the side of her forehead.

"What movie…?" She felt an uneasy feeling overwhelm her as she changed the subject.

"I was thinking Alice In Wonderland." Just as he said the movie title, JARVIS dropped down the projector screen in front of them.

"The old one or new one?" She swung her legs up onto the couch and leaned into his embrace, molding nicely against him.

"The new one." He glanced over at her while the projector warmed up. He felt her body gently press into his side. The awkwardness started to shift between them. He knew how sorry she was, he just didn't know how to tell her it was never her fault. In some way, he could always see, in her eyes, that she always blamed herself for his injuries.

"I thought you want to see something action packed." She glanced over at him again.

"This movie got great reviews, so I'd thought I should watch it. And what better way to watch it than with my girlfriend?" He widened his smile at her.

Pepper's lips formed a small smile for a split second before looking away. Truth be told, she had a dislocated shoulder before. It was during middle school, in gym period. She was playing soccer with her classmates and a collision with two other people made her land in an awkward position. It hurt like hell. She didn't think she'd ever live to feel that sort of pain. It took a month for it to heal, but when people bumped into it, it felt like knives were piercing her shoulder with an almighty force.

"Pepper, don't feel like it's your fault." He finally breathed, squeezing her hip one more time.

"I've had a dislocated shoulder before and—"

"I know." He nodded. "It did hurt, but I think of it as a love bite." He kissed the nape of her neck, making her squirm a little in his grasp.

Her lips formed a sweet smile again. "Tony—"

"It was never your fault." He interrupted her again. She gazed up at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers. "Hardman wanted to kill me because of a misunderstanding. I didn't get hurt because he targeted you."

"That's not how I saw it." She mumbled.

A blue screen was projected onto the screen, but just as the movie was starting, Tony halted it. "JARVIS, stop the movie for a minute."

Pepper immediately glanced over at him. "Can we talk about this after—"

"Nope." He cut her off again. He didn't want them to put off this conversation, and he didn't want her to feel like crap during the movie. He had to talk about this now. "We're talking about this, right here, right now." He pressed his lips together and turned his body to face her.

"I really don't want to talk about it." She heavily sighed, looking away.

"I'm going to tell you what I think is going on in that beautiful red haired head of yours." He told her almost sweetly. "Stop me if I get something wrong."

Pepper pressed her lips together and slowly turned her head to gaze up at him. He sat there, in all his adorable handsome glory, staring at her. His eyes turned a softer shade of brown, showing how much he cared for her.

"You think that it's your fault." He first started out. "You think that you were the cause for what happened that day. Maybe you thought if you weren't my personal assistant, then maybe he wouldn't have targeted me through you. You hate seeing me get hurt, and seeing me scream in pain scarred you. You're even considering the factor of breaking up with me, because you think it'll make my life easier."

"Okay, stop there." She snapped at him. "The breaking up part – that's not true."

"Good." He widened his smile, and affectionately squeezed the section above her knee. "Because, if you were thinking that, I would've had to take drastic measures in persuading you otherwise." He pumped his eyebrow up and down at her.

Pepper breathed a laugh before frowning again; she gazed up at him. "But, it did scare me… Seeing you getting hurt like that…"

"Fury said he took care of Hardman's little device. Iron Man will, hopefully, never experience it ever again." He leaned back in the comfortable couch that molded nicely around him.

"That's good." She leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I also took the time to formulate an antidote against it using the specs of the device Fury sent me. It's for 'just in case' purposes." He reassured her, draping his arm around her waist. "So, you don't have to worry about me anymore."

"I worry about you all the time." She reminded him.

"Force of habit?"

"At first, it was. Then it turned into a general habit." She explained to him.

"You shouldn't have to stress yourself out over me." He heavily sighed.

"It's what a girlfriend does." She tilted her head up and placed a gentle kiss on his neck, just below his jaw.

Tony widened his smile and squeezed her back. He honestly couldn't believe how lucky he was to have her. He loved her, he really did. He just had trouble saying it. It was like seeing Fury dance. No one would believe it happened until they saw it themselves.

Pepper's smile grew when she felt him kiss the top of her head. She snuggled into his embrace and placed the popcorn bowl between them.

"Please." He practically whispered. "Don't blame yourself for what happens to me. It's never your fault."

Pepper sat there and silently nodded in response. She didn't know how _not_ to blame herself. He saved the world and he constantly thought of innocent lives before his own (kind of). He always tried to find time for her, and all this time, she thought she was a burden to him. It was hard to see him enduring so much pain and agony where there probably was another way. _There always is another way._

She laid there in silence as the movie began, and Tony sat there next to her, quietly running his hand up and down her waist. It wasn't long before Pepper endearingly gripped his hand with her own, and entwined their fingers together. He pressed a lingering kiss on the top of her head and sighed in content. It was a perfect evening for a somewhat perfect date. Neither one of them wanted to sleep alone that night.


	22. Chapter 22

Pepper sat there at her desk in her black business dress shirt and black pencil skirt. Her strawberry colored hair was tied up. She pressed her lips together while looking through the contracts on her desk. She wasn't too happy what people were asking Stark Industries to agree upon. It was ultimate Tony and the board's decision but she knew Tony wouldn't look over them at all. It was her job to look over them, find any loopholes, and decide the next step. The board would always ask Tony's opinion, and she would always respond by stating her opinion as a replacement for his. She never thought she would be working for a careless boss, but it was _the_ Tony Stark.

She couldn't blame him, though. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders, or at least that's what it felt like. Even though he's suspended for another month, it was hard to see him sitting around the workshop with practically nothing to do.

Pepper placed one of the three contracts that sat in front of her inside the out box, the rest of the contracts on top of an already started pile of contracts.

"Miss Potts." Kelly said her name through the intercom on Pepper's desk.

Pepper pressed the red button. "Yes?" She replied.

"Mr. Stark is here. He says he wanted to see you."

_What is Tony doing here? He's supposed to be home, resting._ "Did he state his reasons?"

"Nope." Kelly glanced up at Tony, whom was leaning over the desk with a smug smile on his face.

"Send him in." Pepper huffed.

Within a few seconds, Tony's scent filled the room. Pepper looked up from her desk and saw him stroll through the glass door. As the door closed behind him, he flashed a small smile.

"Hi." He greeted her, walking up to her desk.

"Hi." She replied, with a suspicious tone. "What are you—"

"Doing here?" He finished her sentence. "I'm here to visit you. I hope that's okay." He sat down in the chair that was professionally placed in front of her desk.

"You should be home, resting, Tony." She pressed her lips together and disappointedly looked at him.

"Can't I visit my girlfriend at her work place?" He pouted, obviously weakening the raging walls that hid her feelings.

"You have a girlfriend, Mr. Stark?" She questioned him quizzically, trying to imply where they were.

"You don't have to pretend in here, Pep. My father built this place. I know where surveillance cameras are, and aren't, placed." He reassured her and brought his hand up to lay on top of hers. She looked down at their adjoined hands; her lips formed a small smile.

"Charming, Tony, but I'd still like to be a little more careful around Stark Industries." She slowly tugged her hands away.

He frowned and began to pout with his bottom lip sticking out. "Okay then… I'll just… I'll just wait… at home… cause… yeah…" He spun around in his chair, preparing to get up.

Pepper frowned. His guilt trip worked. She didn't necessarily feel bad about what she said, because she didn't want their relationship to flash across billions of screens at once during every news hour. She had to deal with Tony and Iron Man. Another subject would overkill her. "Tony…" She breathed. "… Come back."

Tony stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her; he was still pouting.

"You know how much I care about you. I just don't want people to—"

"Spill the beans about us, to the press?" He finished her sentence. He looked down at the floor before looking back up at her. He forgot how worried she was about people finding out about their personal relationship.

She tilted her head to the side and heavily sighed. "Did you want something?"

"What makes you think I wanted something?" The corner of his mouth curved upwards, portraying his pleased and curious feelings.

Pepper started to sarcastically grin at him. "Mr. Stark only pays people a visit when he wants something."

He was taken aback by the hurtful truth and immediately ignored it. "I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight." He shrugged and looked away. "Nothing fancy. Just you, me, a table, some food, and the moonlight."

"Sounds great but I don't get off work until later." Pepper looked down at the papers in front of her and got back to work.

"When is later?" He frowned, looking up at her.

"8 o'clock at the least."

"That's okay. I can get the food delivered to us." He reassured her, trying his best to make his plans work.

"Delivered?" She raised an eyebrow, curious to know what kind of food he was going to bring home. "Pizza?"

"Nah. I was thinking more along the lines of Reggie's."

Pepper widened her eyes in shock. "Reggie's is a very expensive restaurant, Tony. Your Iron Man suit could probably pay for half of our meal." It was truly expensive. The restaurant only served five star food and the chefs weren't hired on a whim. Being a chef at that restaurant would get you fame in an instant.

"Please." He rolled his eyes while his ego skyrocketed. "I'm Tony Stark. I get a fifty percent discount."

Pepper shifted in her chair and pressed her lips together. "I'll try to get home before 9 o'clock."

"Great." He widened his smile and began to get up from his seat. "I'm guessing you want the roasted chicken smothered in red wine sauce, with a side of elegant juicy mushrooms, and some black truffle french fries."

She furrowed her eyebrows at him. "How did you—?"

"I'm your boyfriend." He smirked, walking towards the glass door. "I'm supposed to know."

Pepper couldn't help but speechlessly smile. She got up from her desk and walked towards him with an endearing smile spread across her face. "Tony."

A second after he turned around to face her, her lips were already crashing against his. He wrapped his free arm around her waist to press her body against his whilst being careful of his injured arm. She cupped his cheeks with both of her hands and deepened the kiss for a short second before pulling away. They were merely centimeters away from each other.

Pepper grinned; she glanced down at his lips before staring up into his soft brown eyes. "That was very sweet of you." She murmured.

"What was?" He smiled softly.

"Tell me something." She paused with a slow and seductive voice. "Did JARVIS tell you what I like to eat?"

"He…" Tony looked up at the ceiling for a moment, avoiding eye contact. "…may have said… something…"

"You're cute, Mr. Stark." She laughed, shaking her head at him. Pepper peeled herself away from him and started to walk back to her desk.

"I get points for trying, right?" He grinned at her, scanning her up and down as her back was turned to him.

She rounded her desk and noticed his staring. With a sly smile, she glared at him, "You get _a_ point."

"Are there prizes I could redeem for these _points_?" He hinted, watching her squirm in her seat.

"This isn't a Chuck-e-Cheese, Tony." She huffed, obviously trying to get out of whatever game he was trying to play.

"You know how adorably cute you are when you're frustrated with me?" He told her with a smirk before walking towards the glass door.

"Then I must be 'adorably cute' all the time." She responded in a heart beat – more like out of habit. When she thought she was going to get a snarky reply, she didn't. Pepper looked up and noticed that Tony already walked through the door and towards Kelly's desk. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. For as long as she could remember, whenever he strolled into her office, the first thought that came to mind was to shoo him out of there as fast as possible so she could get back to work. But whenever he actually left, she missed his presence. Of course it was odd when they were employee and employer. Now, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. A couple. A pair. Part of her wanted to tell him to come back and keep her company. _Company… Stark Industries…_ Pepper reminded herself. _You're here to work Virginia. Not dawdle with your boss slash boyfriend._

Night time soon fell. Pepper didn't even see the sun go down due to the massive amount of work she had to do at her office. Contracts, messages, and e-mails flooded her day pretty fast. When all was said and done, she waved good-bye to Kelly at the front desk in front of her office, and then to whomever passed by her. She drove home, carefully obeying the speed limit, and eventually began to drool over the thought of the meal that awaited her at Tony's house.

When she swiftly entered his house through the front door, JARVIS greeted her.

"Good evening, Miss Potts."

"Hi, JARVIS." She smiled, placing her belongings on the nearby table. "Where's Tony?"

"He is awaiting your presence in the kitchen." The AI responded.

"Thanks." Pepper curiously rounded the corner and noticed how elegantly set the table was. Tony was hunched over the oven bearing a bowl full of clams. She smirked, and couldn't help but laugh at the 'Kiss The Cook' apron he had on. He wore a black dress shirt and a pair of clean jeans. He looked absolutely handsome. The arc reactor was showing a bit, thanks to a few unbuttoned buttons.

"What?" He frowned, glancing over at her.

"You know how to use the oven?" She joked, watching him place the bowl onto the counter in front of him.

"Funny." He dryly responded with a small smile. His injured arm was tucked behind the apron with the blue sling showing.

"How'd you tie your apron?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Dummy." He simply said, and pointed at his back. "Think you could help me?"

Pepper smiled endearingly and walked over to him to help. She untied the apron carefully and gently raised it over his head to take it off. Tony turned around and quickly kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks." He grabbed the bowl of clams, and walked out of the kitchen, towards the dining table. "Ready to eat?"

Pepper folded the apron neatly and placed it on the counter. A part of her started to warm up, while a few butterflies were flying around in her stomach. Just thinking of a romantic evening with Tony got her nervous. Yes, they've had movie nights, plenty of times, but it was a _real_ date, so to speak. It was a romantic and expensive dinner, and the were candles lit.

Pepper walked towards the dining table and saw her plate of nicely cooked chicken sitting at her seat. She widened her smile and immediately sat down. "It looks very delicious."

"That's cause I didn't cook it." He joked, smiling up at her. Tony sat down in front of her and gestured towards the bowl of clams. "Want some?"

"I think I'll enjoy my delicious chicken in peace." She smirked, cutting the juicy meat with ease.

"Suit yourself." He grabbed the bowl and dumped most of the clams onto his plate. "The restaurant was actually pretty nice. They don't deliver, and I didn't want to drive. So, I bribed them to deliver it here."

"Only you would do that, Tony." She rolled her eyes at him, obviously too indulged in her meal. "God, this chicken is so delicious. You want some?"

"I'm surprised you even asked me." He chuckled.

If he wasn't sitting so far away, she would've whacked him on his shoulder. But the chicken was calling her, and the expensive meal was only a once in a lifetime sort of thing.

The couple enjoyed their meal together quite peacefully. Fury didn't interrupt them, and neither did JARVIS. It was a perfect dinner with the perfect meal—everything was so far, perfect. After they cleared the table, they decided to enjoy their time on the couch, in front of the TV. Tony sat there with his arm draped across Pepper's shoulders, pressing her body against his.

"Thanks, Tony. That was really good." She told him with a grin, ignoring the TV.

"You're supposed to say that _after_ we have sex. Not before." He joked, and just when he thought he got away with it, he felt a slap against his arm.

"Food coma." She murmured, before heavily sighing.

Tony kissed the top of her head. "I hope you don't intend on sleeping here, on this couch. This beast has wronged my back a few times."

"Your bedroom isn't that far from here, Tony. Why would you sleep on the couch?" She furrowed her eyebrows, glancing up at him.

"Simple." He responded quickly. "I couldn't make it to my bedroom." This made her shake her head at him. "But, there was always this woman that would move me to my bedroom in the morning. I just couldn't pass that opportunity up."

She scooted away and glared up at him. "Are you serious?"

"C'mon, Potts. You really think I didn't do that on purpose?" He grinned, nudging her side, gently. "Well, actually, most of the time it was on accident."

"Tony Stark tries wooing his personal assistant by passing out on the couch. Classic." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Can't say I didn't try." He grinned, and tried to lean in for a kiss.

"You could've done other stuff." She stared down at his lips, almost intently.

"Like…?" He leaned in closer. He could feel her breath weave through the hairs of his goatee.

"You could send flowers, or a… puppy." She said before feeling his lips brush against hers. Tony took that extra step and pressed his lips against hers. It was a slow, sweet, and sensual kiss. Pepper leaned back a little, making sure to give his injured arm some room. "Mm, your… arm."

"Forget it." He murmured, and continued to kiss her. Pepper wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. They could practically keep it together. Pepper's mind was going crazy, and Tony just wanted _it_ to happen. While her hands were roaming around his black dress shirt, his hand was starting to play with the waistband of her skirt. He pulled away, almost instantly, and stared down at her.

She looked up at him and saw the question in his eyes. Pepper widened her smile at him, "It's okay, Tony." She pulled him down, on top of her, and continued to kiss him sensually. His hand was still fiddling with the waistband of her skirt while her hands were already unbuttoning his dress shirt. He couldn't be anymore happier to be spending a romantic evening with Pepper. It was what he wanted for so long. Forget date twenty—forget Iron Man lingerie and whip cream.

_Oh god, tonight is the night. Pepper and I are going to…_ Suddenly, almost abruptly, Tony stopped kissing her. He pulled away, slowly, and stared down at her. Pepper looked up at him and saw his face turn a different shade of color. She furrowed her eyebrows, curiosity overflowing her, almost turning into worry.

"Tony, are you—"

"Oh god." He immediately sprang up off her and ran to the bathroom.

Pepper laid there, on the couch, with her mouth gapping, feeling confused and worried. After hearing the bathroom door slam into the wall with a thud, she heard him retching, probably into the toilet.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Sorry for the e-mail spam. I'm correcting minor typos.**

Pepper fast walked towards the bathroom, hearing every sound Tony made. It sounded awful. It sounded like he was being punched in the stomach multiple times. She rounded the corner and walked through his bedroom. She pressed her lips together and courageously turned her head to peer into the bathroom. His head was completely in the toilet. He was on his knees, holding onto the bowl for some leverage.

"Tony…" She furrowed her eyebrows, and walked towards him. "…Are you okay?"

He lifted his head up and stumbled backwards, hitting the wall behind him.

"I feel sick." He blatantly said, staring at the toilet in front of him. He felt so weak and uncomfortable. He didn't want to even get up; he was worried that he was going to up chuck again. He didn't want to puke all over Pepper, especially not on her clothes… or her sexy legs. _Pepper and her legs. Those things will do me in for sure one day._

Before he knew it, Pepper was sitting down next to him. She gently rubbed his back with her palm, hoping to clam him down.

"I'm fine…" He swallowed, looking away.

"Is it something you ate?"

"Do you feel sick?" He turned his head to finally face her. Her glowing blue eyes were staring at him. It made him feel somewhat better. Hell, she always made him feel better.

"I feel fine – content, actually." She hinted towards their last activity.

"If you're fine—wait, did you eat any of my clams?" He furrowed his eyebrows, slightly.

"Nope." Pepper shook her head.

"Throw those clams out." He said quickly, feeling the rush of nausea overwhelm him. Before Pepper could even respond, Tony practically leaped for the toilet; emptying his stomach's contents.

Pepper cringed at the sound of him retching. She moved to kneel beside him so she could continue to rub his back.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, still hovering over the toilet.

"For what?"

"We could have…" He tried to start his sentence but couldn't think of words to say. "… I screwed up. Or rather, my stomach screwed up." He looked down at his stomach and cursed at it under his breath.

"What are you talking about?" She breathed a laugh, trying to make him, and herself, feel a bit better, especially considering their situation right now.

"We could've made this night so much better." He shook his head before resting his forehead against the edge of the bowl. "We could've had sex."

She endearingly smiled at his last comment. True, they could've had sex, and she even said it was okay when he mentally asked her. None of them had anticipated it, but if it had happened, it would've made their night so much better. If the clams hadn't poisoned Tony's stomach, they would have taken that extra step in their relationship. The thought about exploring each other's bodies made Pepper smile.

"There will be other opportunities." She tried to reassure him.

"But that was _the_ opportunity. It was…" He turned his head to glance at her and saw how her lips formed that reassuring smile he was so used to seeing.

"There will be other opportunities." She repeated, and bent over to kiss him on his shoulder. "Trust me."

"This night was perfect." He leaned back against the wall, and rested his head against Pepper's shoulder. "Romantic dinner. Romantic evening. Romantic food coma." He turned his head and felt something on his face. Pepper slowly cleaned his mouth with a tissue. His eyes watched her movements. He could almost memorize them by heart. "Then…" His eyes locks onto Pepper's while feeling her hand brush against his jaw. "…this happens."

Pepper leans in slowly, almost catching Tony by surprise. Never before had he seen, or heard of, a woman kiss a man that had just vomited. She kissed the corner of his mouth and felt his arm snake towards her waist, grasping it gently. She must have tossed the tissue aside because Tony felt her hands cup his face.

Pepper pulled away, utterly mesmerized by how handsome he looked, even after his gross encounter. "We could always relive this night. We could actually relive it right now. I can light some candles in here. We can have some chicken noodle soup." She began to smirk.

"Chicken noodle soup is romantic?" He furrowed his eyebrows, pulling her body against his.

"It helps your stomach." She added in with a sly smile. "But we could always _make_ it romantic."

"You always know what to say to me." He laughed lightly, almost forgetting about his condition. He still felt a little weak, however, the uncomfortable feeling flew out the window when Pepper kissed him.

Pepper moved to get up, but she felt his hand tug at the seam of her skirt. She glanced down and saw Tony's puppy dog eyes.

"Where are you going?" He muttered.

"I'm going to get you some water. It'll help your stomach." She walked out of his reach, feeling a little miserable for having to leave Tony in the bathroom for a few seconds.

"What about the soup?" He frowned, looking up at her; trying to keep his stomach under control.

"Did you want soup?"

"Maybe." He shrugged, and looked away, like a kid that didn't know what he wanted, but asked anyways.

"I'll make you some soup then." She smiled. "Maybe if you lay down, you'll feel better."

"I don't think I want to risk barfing all over the place." He pressed his lips together, looking over at the bed.

"Trust me, Tony." She said from the doorway in his bedroom. "If you feel the need to barf, you'll make it to the toilet. If not, drag the wastebasket with you."

It was a minute later when Pepper strolled into Tony's bedroom with a water bottle in her hand. She looked up, and saw Tony laying there, on his side, with the wastebasket right next to him. She grinned at the sight and climbed onto the bed to sit next to him. It felt exactly like those times Tony came back from a brutal mission. He would lay down in bed and try to hide his pain, but Pepper would be right by his side, pressuring him to take some medicine, or eat something, to help him feel better.

He felt the cold bottle tap his shoulder a few times. He turned his head and saw Pepper, sitting next to him, with the bottle in her hand. He scooted up, to lean against the headboard, and rested against her shoulder whilst taking tiny sips from the bottle.

"Thanks." He muttered, sighing contently. "Where's the soup?"

"It's on the stove." She responded. She laid her hand on top of his thigh to reassure him. "Soup doesn't cook itself, you know."

"Actually—" He glanced over at her but saw her glaring at him, making him change his choice of words. "—Never mind."

"JARVIS doesn't count." She told him, pressing her lips together.

"He _can_ cook, though."

"He's artificial intelligence. Of course he can cook." She rolled her eyes at him, feeling a bit offended.

"True." He slightly nodded, feeling the negative aura Pepper was giving off. "He can cook, but I think your cooking is, by far, better. And besides, you have that motherly charm. It makes the food taste better." He widened his smile, hoping she bought it.

She sat there, looking away. They both sat there, in silence, for what seemed like a few seconds. It was only then Pepper heavily sighed and decided to give him credit. "Nice save."

"Miss Potts." The AI sounded. "The soup is boiling. I believe it is the appropriate time to take it off the stove before it over boils."

Tony grinned at the announcement and looked over at his girlfriend. She pressed her lips together and squeezed his thigh. "Don't say _anything_."

"I wasn't going to." He smirked. He watched her waltz out of his bedroom, giving him the opportunity to stare at her long legs. Those legs only gave him a short period of happiness.

He began to frown. He stared down at the bottle, deep in his own thoughts. Pepper and he could've had sex. Sure, he was Tony Stark, the man that used to be a chick magnet – the man that could get any girl he wanted. Any girl would pounce on him the moment they walked through the threshold of his house.

Pepper was different. _No shit she's different._ He thought, swirling the bottle before taking tiny sips. He didn't want to pressure her into anything. He wanted to keep things at the appropriate pace. _What exactly is an appropriate pace?_ He furrowed his eyebrows.

His thoughts were cut off when he heard the sound of bare feet pattering along the floor. Tony looked up and saw the very red head that had him stumped. She carried the tray full of soup bowls through the threshold and placed them on the nightstand.

"Did you want anything else?" She grabbed one of the bowls and carefully handed it to him.

"I think this is fine." He flashed a small smile and accepted the bowl. Pepper grabbed her own bowl and sat next to him, on top of the bed.

Tony looked down at his chicken noodle soup before glancing over at Pepper. Just as she took a spoonful of soup, "How long did you wait to have sex?" He asked.

Pepper must've heard right, because she spewed most of the soup back into her bowl. Thankfully, none of it got onto the bed sheets. She furrowed her eyebrows, almost trying not to laugh. "What?" She smirked; glancing over at him.

"Just a question." He pressed his lips together and innocently looked at her. "Doesn't have to be answered – but I preferably would like for it to be answered."

Pepper sat there with her mouth gapped; a small smile slowly appeared on her face. "Why—" She paused, unsure of what to say. "Is this because of what happened?"

"I'm just… wondering…" He looked away.

"Tony, it'll happen. Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but it'll happen." She tried to reassure him. Pepper saw him thoughtfully look down at his bowl of soup. "And if you must know… it was seven months."

He whipped his head around to look at her. "Seven months?" He almost seemed surprise.

Pepper took a spoonful of the soup. "I was eighteen, Tony, and the guy was very nice and polite."

"Two weeks." He abruptly stated, looking into the distance, with a small smile.

Pepper glanced over him with a disappointed look. What was there to be mad at? _He's Tony freaking Stark._ She reminded herself. "Was it a meaningful relationship?" She asked quickly, almost regretting it afterwards.

"Nope." He shook his head, almost feeling ashamed. "This is my first real meaningful relationship." He and Pepper both looked at each other at the exact same moment. "Which is why I asked. I didn't… I didn't want to pressure you into anything…"

She smirked before endearingly smiling. "You don't have to worry about pressuring me, Tony. You're doing just fine."

"So, can we have sex?" He blatantly asked her.

Pepper began to laugh at him. She began to sink her head, thus resting it on his shoulder. "You're not _that_ lucky, Stark."

Tony began to smile to himself. He wasn't offended by her sly comment. He was actually a tad bit happy that she said no. In his earlier days, he would mention sex, and women would pounce on him as if he were a juicy piece of steak. No one quite understood him like Pepper – and maybe Rhodey. He cared for her enough to accept the fact that she didn't want to have sex with him yet. _More like I love her._ He thought to himself as he pushed another spoonful of soup through his lips. He glanced over at the person that occupied his right side and carefully placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Thanks, Pepper." He murmured. "You've taken such good care of me."

"Eat your soup." She stared at her bowl of soup before grinning.

It was the next day. Tony felt a lot better the next morning. Pepper had gotten a call from the restaurant and they had apologized. Apparently, most of the customers that ordered the clams had gotten food poisoning. Thankfully, they gave Tony a refund for the trouble they had caused and offered to give them a free meal.

The phone rang multiple times before it was finally picked up.

"Hello?" Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of the person that had called him.

"We could have had sex!" Tony practically yelled through the phone. "Pepper and I were kissing after our dinner – the dinner was great by the way; absolutely fantastic – and we were on the couch, not paying attention to the television. Thanks to a certain _restaurant_, " Tony rolled his eyes, almost regretting the fact that he could have sued them for ruining such a perfect and romantic moment, " I got food poisoning. I think you already know the details since I entered this conversation stating that Pepper and I _could have_ had sex. A bottle of water and bowls of soup later, I asked Pepper about her sex life. Do you think I should pressure her a little, or should I just let it run its course?"

Rhodey undoubtedly rolled his eyes at his friend and abruptly slapped the phone onto its receiver. Tony furrowed his eyebrows at the ringing tone that sounded through his end.

"Rhodey? Hello?"

**A/N: So glad the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup. I'm a San Jose Sharks fan, but I did not want the cup to be in Canada. I'm very disgusted with Vancouver. They rioted downtown Vancouver after they lost 4-0 to the Bruins. Apparently, one Boston Bruins fan was pushed over the overpass during the riot and died. It's truly sad… **

**Good night!**


	24. Chapter 24

"Sir." A man walking through the building fast walked towards another man wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweats. The man turned around to face the henchman. "Khris, sir, we have news on Tony Stark."

"Is he making progress on his suit?" Khris asked, walking past him.

Their base was filled with scrap metal, various boxes that contained objects, and glowing blue sparks.

"He hasn't been working on his suit as we thought." The henchman trailed behind him while informing him. "Stark's suit has not been flown in a week."

"So, we'll give him something to fly to." Khris angrily walked off, deeper into his base that was engulfed in darkness. "Did you dispose of Greg Leon?"

"Yes." The henchman nodded. "We have already begun working on one of his weapons."

"How many more of Stark's missiles do we have?" Khris glanced over at him.

"One more, sir. Would you like us to build another batch?"

"No. Finish making the weapon from Leon Industries. Prepare a batch of men and plant Stark's missile in Nevada." Khris ordered the man.

"Yes, sir." The henchman nodded and hastily walked away.

Khris stood over one of his creations. It glowed a similar blue that of Iron Man's arc reactor. It wasn't a suit. The dark brown haired man never took a liking to a suit that encased true power. He hated the idea of concealing his identity behind a metal mask. It wasn't his style. It wasn't part of his plan.

**REPAIR; CHAPTER 24**

It was a bright and sunny day. Tony had just finished working on something for his suit even though his arm was still healing. He tried his best and figured out what was wrong with it, but it took up more time than he had anticipated. After working hard for a few hours, he decided to check up on Pepper, whom was sitting on the couch in the living room, next to the piano.

He strolled up the stairs and saw her sitting on the couch, leisurely working on whatever her laptop contained.

"Hey." He greeted her with a small smile.

"Good afternoon." She glanced over at him with a grin. "Get anything done down there?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Took longer than I thought."

"Stocks are up by one percent." She stated, looking over at him to see his reaction.

He shrugged it off. "That's good, right?"

"Do you even care about your company?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him, hoping for an intellectual and actually good response.

"Isn't that what I have you for?" He walked towards the kitchen. "To keep my company running?"

"Tony…" She heavily sighed, and continued typing on her laptop. "…When you took over the company, did you even _want_ it?"

Tony's hand stopped on the fridge's door handle. He stood there with a small frown on his face. Of course he wanted to. He wanted to continue the work his father had left him. He wanted to continue his father's work – to keep his footsteps going – to keep everything the same, as if it shouldn't change.

"Yeah, I did." He told her, opening the fridge with ease. "Do we have any sandwich fixings?"

Pepper pressed her lips together. He always had ways of getting out of conversations, but she respected his reasons. He simply didn't want to talk about it, and she didn't really feel like pressing his buttons. Delicate matters are usually the ones that don't get attention for a reason.

"Want me to make you one?" She pressed her lips together, carefully glancing over her shoulder.

"I _could_ use an extra hand." He smiled, taking out the peanut butter and jelly, and juggling them in his hand.

Pepper set her laptop on the spot next to her before getting off the couch. She rounded the corner and saw him searching for the bread. The peanut butter and jelly jars were already on the counter. She went inside the kitchen and popped open the jars.

She was about to ask for the bread, but instead felt a strong arm wrap around her waist. Tony pressed her into his body and endearingly rested his chin on her shoulder. He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"You're a really great personal assistant, Pepper." He told her, making her blush. "When you got hired, I bet you never thought you'd be running my company, almost completely."

"When you hired me, I never thought we'd actually become romantically involved." She told him with a small smile. She felt him tighten his hold on her, as if he never wanted to let go.

"Really?"

"You were always with other women, and I never wanted to be one of those _women._" She pressed her lips together, almost feeling horrible for saying it.

"Figures." He smirked. "None of my sexual innuendos or flirtatious acts got to you."

"Where's the bread?" She felt another kiss on her cheek.

"I think we're out." He murmured, resting his head against her shoulder.

"What? That's impossible. I swear I bought some bread on Monday." She furrowed her eyebrows, looking around.

"I tried making a sandwich three days ago, but there was no bread." He responded with a sly smile.

Pepper angrily growled. "So, I walked over here and opened these jars for nothing?"

"Yup." He unraveled his arm from around her waist and placed one of the caps back into its jar. "I just wanted to pull you away from your work."

"Seriously?" She angrily spat at him. "I have a lot of work to do, Tony. I would actually have less if you actually gave a damn about your company."

"You know how bad I am with contracts, e-mails, and all things that don't pertain to Iron Man suits or repulsion rays." He widened his grin at her, almost expecting to get slapped on the arm.

"Let's make it a date then."

"What?" He furrowed his eyebrows, and carefully watched her.

"Help me with my e-mails and some contracts, and we'll count it as a date." She leaned against the counter with one hand on her hip and the other on the counter.

"That's so unfair." He pouted.

"It's your loss, boss." She devilishly grinned at him. "If you actually took my offer, you would be one more step closer to seeing me in sexy and half naked, Iron Man lingerie." Pepper rounded the counter to sit back down on the couch.

Tony's mouth gapped. "So… unfair…" He grumbled, trying to shake the thoughts out of his head. She knew he couldn't resist her, nor the idea of becoming closer to date twenty. It was his fantasy to see her in Iron Man lingerie, right next to the Princess Leia and the gold bikini.

"Sir, I suggest you watch the channel two news." JARVIS suddenly announced.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and immediately looked at Pepper; she looked back at him with a slight shrug and a hint of worry.

"Turn on the news, JARVIS." Tony watched as one of the glass panels in the living room lit up.

"—many reports of the U.S government military strolling through Nevada." One of the news anchors announced. "Our news chopper has caught sight of their target, and it seems like there are missiles in the deserts of Nevada. There is no further news as to how, or why, it is there."

The other news anchor spoke up. "The police are warning all citizens of Nevada that they are in danger until the missiles have been defused and cleared as safe. Police and the U.S military are not answering any questions at the moment. They just want everyone safe and out of harm." Their news feed slowly cut to a sky view of the missiles that their news chopper had recorded earlier.

Tony immediately knew what type of missiles those were, because he built them himself. _Those are…_ He hastily walked towards the stairs as his teeth grinded together in anger.

"What—" She slowly looked over her shoulder and saw that he was no longer there. She instantly looked over at the stairs and noticed his movements. "—Tony, where are you going!"

"To take care of those missiles." He angrily grounded out. "JARVIS, prepare the suit."

"Right away, Sir, but I'm afraid the suit will be much harder to handle given your current condition." The AI responded.

Pepper completely ignored "Fury has you on strict surveillance, and he suspended you from all missions. Do you actually think he'll just let you go—"

"Those are my missiles, Pepper!" He turned and yelled at her, before he pointed at the screen. "That bastard planted them in Nevada to taunt me."

"Think about this rationally, Tony." She tried to calm him down. She knew how he felt about this situation. He was hell bent on destroying every single duplicate of his missile that touched the ground. He felt like it was his responsibility, but he was putting the missiles before himself – before his health and well being. "You need both hands to fly. You're in no shape to be operating that suit right now."

Tony stopped at the first step and glanced over at his arm. She was right. He was in no shape, but he couldn't just leave those missiles there. "I have to take care of it. It's my responsibility to keep my weapons from hurting innocent people."

"Please—" She tried to convince him, but even she couldn't finish her sentence. A split second later, a swarm of shield agents stormed the room. They all pointed their assault rifles at Tony, and even further enhanced their threat by using their laser sights.

Tony angrily turned around and saw Agent Coulson standing there, with a small smile on his face.

"Mr. Stark, you're under strict orders by Director Fury to stand down." The agent informed him.

"Wha—" He tried to speak up but was shot down, instantly.

"Your services aren't needed in this matter, _and_ I believe Director Fury suspended you a few weeks ago." Agent Couslon looked at him.

Tony glanced at the SHIELD agents and noticed their trigger finger lingering across the bottom. "It's my responsibility to take care of—"

"It's your responsibility to heal, strengthen up, and prepare for whatever battles await us. It would certainly insult Director Fury and myself if you carelessly flew out there just because of those missiles." Coulson kept his hands behind his back. He was always the informant. Tony saw him much more as Fury's errand boy. Fury would never approach someone, in person, for such a measly message. It angered Tony that he was being slapped around like a harmless fly.

As Tony glanced over at his personal assistant, he saw the same message in her eyes. She didn't want to him to fly out there in his condition.

"Tell me something, Coulson." He started out, carefully choosing his words. "Is SHIELD responsible for the protection of my suits?" Seeing Coulson front and center made him think about Rhodey's news about Senator Stern backing off.

Coulson simply smiled at him. "Director Fury likes to protect his employees when, and if, the moment arises."

"What about the missiles? The United States government can easily tell where that missile came from—"

"Like I said, Director Fury likes to protect his employees." Coulson quickly said.

Tony began to glare at him. "And what about the missiles' protection?"

"We have another man on the scene."

"And who's that, because calling Natalie a man is a bit insulting."

"I doubt Captain American would like being called a woman."

Coulson touched one of the agent's guns, making all surrounding units lower their weapons in response. The agent turned around with the rest of the squad trailing behind him. Tony already knew that he was stuck inside his house. He didn't have a chance, what with Agent Coulson and his men lurking around the perimeter.

Pepper pressed her lips together in frustration and cautiously walked towards him, unsure of his feelings about the situation. "Tony—"

"I'll be downstairs." He simply told her. He didn't even look her in the eyes. "You don't have to worry about me. Coulson has the house surrounded. There's no way I'll get out."

She placed her hand on the railing and gripped it tightly. She couldn't help but watch as Tony walked down the stairs, and through the glass door that led to his workshop. It wasn't easy seeing his services rejected by the very people that hired him. But Coulson, and JARVIS, were right. He was not much use in his current condition. She couldn't understand why Tony didn't see it earlier. To hear Tony even talk about responsibility made her do a mental double take.

Pepper decided to walk down to his workshop and talk to him. If anything, it probably would help to hear his side of the conversation. She felt like walking away and letting him ride it out, but what kind of girlfriend, and personal assistant, would she be if she did that?

She looked through the glass door and saw him sulking in his seat that was in front of the holographic imaging table. He was staring up at the old plans he had of the Mark I.

Pepper punched in her access code and warily walked through the workshop.

"You okay?" She asked him, hoping to get an answer. Anything was better than just a nod.

"Depends on how you look at the situation." He glanced over at her before changing the holographic image to something less upsetting, and something that had less horrific memories – a picture from one of Pepper's old modeling job. "I like this one, by the way."

She tried to keep a smile, but failed to do so when she saw the disappointing look he kept beneath that fake grin of his. He switched it to something less inappropriate and more memorable; a picture of Pepper and him. It was one of those things that calmed him down.

"I know you hate it when I take a side that isn't yours…" She started off, but he already knew what she was trying to say.

"I understand, Pepper." He murmured, staring up at their picture. "Do you remember when Rhodey took this picture?"

She squinted, trying to get a better look at the picture that floated in front of them. Savoring the moment, Tony wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. She returned his endearing gesture by holding his hand against her waist with her own. The picture featured a grin from Tony, but an angry and furious expression from Pepper.

"Ah, I remember this picture." Her lips formed a small smile. "It was when I was mad at you for missing all three meetings that morning. I almost killed you."

"Why Rhodey took a picture of the moment, I will never know." Tony breathed a laugh.

"It's cute." She added, rubbing his hand with her thumb. "We should frame it."

"We could hang it on the wall, and label it as: The Wrath of Pepper Potts." He grinned up at her, feeling delighted to be in her presence.

"Or, we could label it as: Tony Stark Misses Meeting 106." She playfully grinned back at him.

Both of them took the moment to share a laugh, because it felt like the day wasn't quite going to be jam packed of them.

"I know you feel like it's your responsibility to take care of every single duplicate of your weaponry…" She started out; she felt him squeeze her waist. "…but sometimes…" She paused. "… You just need to let it go."

"What—" he blurted out, trying to make her understand his feelings about the matter, but she abruptly cut him off.

"—What I mean, is… you need to think first."

"…And by that you mean…?" He questioned her, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Were you really going to fly that suit with your arm like that?" She worriedly asked him, hoping he would say no.

"Yeah." He pressed his lips together.

"And how were you going to accomplish that? Your shoulder is still healing."

Tony shrugged. "I was going to have JARVIS fly it."

"And what if you got hit – or worse, what if the missiles targeted you?"

He sat there, thinking about the situation for a moment. "That's impossible, Pep. The missiles weren't designed for specific targets. They were—"

"You know what I'm asking, Tony." She grounded out.

He paused for a moment, as if he were carefully choosing his words. "I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying… I would… I would much rather try and make a difference than just sit here, doing nothing."

At that moment, Pepper realized where Tony's actions came from. He was tired of sitting back behind a brick wall, impervious to standards of wealth, worries, and all the hazards of being a normal person.

**A/N: Less fluffy, sorry. :( **


	25. Chapter 25

Khris stood there with his arms crossed against his chest. He was in a rusted warehouse like building, surrounded by the various tools and resources that were being used by his henchmen. His head was tilted up, giving all of his attention to the small television in front of him.

The channel two news was giving reports on the missiles that were planted in the deserts of Nevada.

"Nevada citizens have been given the signal. Thanks to our hero, Captain America, the missiles have been cleared as okay, and are being escorted in the hands of the United States military. No one knows how it got there, and the military refuses to make any comment on it. The government will be making their speech today regarding this matter." One of the news anchors announced.

The other news anchor spoke up. "Captain America will not be attending the press conference. Instead, the government will be giving a general speech and _will not_ be taking any questions from the press. All, and any, news about the press conference will be covered."

Khris rubbed his chin in frustration and began to grit his teeth together. One of the henchmen approached him.

"Stark did not show."

"Obviously." Khris rolled his eyes, and walked away from the television screen.

"What should we do now?" The henchman followed him through the production lines of the warehouse.

It was a mass production line. Every henchman was busy building something out of the scraps of resources they got. They weren't each building individual and identical products. They were building add-ons to the same product.

"We keep building our weapon." Khris responded. "We can only assume that Stark is incapacitated."

"Then we should strike while we're ahead!" The henchmen whispered loudly. "We'll have the upper hand—an advantage over Iron Man! We must take it!"

Khris began to chuckle at the man's proposition. "I want Iron Man to be at his best when I fight him. What sort of rival would I be if I killed him when he's at a disadvantage?"

**REPAIR; CHAPTER 25**

Pepper walked through the front door with her purse in her hand and her blackberry in the other. She wore her usual grey business outfit and high heels. She semi rushed down towards Tony's workshop to check up on him. Once she got through the glass door via access code, she looked up and saw the doctor inspecting Tony's arm.

She furrowed her eyebrows in worry. "How is he, Doctor Anders?"

The doctor looked behind him with a small smile. "He's just fine." The man was the same height as Tony. He was fairly old, considering he's been with SHIELD for some time. He was in his mid fifties. He had grey hair and an average haircut. He looked very handsome for his age, and really professional. He had a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt on. "Although, he needs to cut back on the cholesterol."

"Hey." Tony snapped, pressing his lips together. "You're a doctor, not a doctor for physical therapy."

"I assume you two are getting along nicely." She walked over to them. Tony was sitting on a stool while the doctor examined his arm.

"Does this hurt?" Anders moved Tony's arm up, and he saw him flinch a little.

"Nope." Tony looked over at him, and then at his girlfriend. She gave him a small glare.

"Just because you want to get back into your Iron Man suit doesn't mean you should lie, Mr. Stark." Anders beamed a look at him and smiled when Pepper came up from behind him.

"Tony…" She growled at him lowly.

"This guy doesn't know what he's doing, Pepper." Tony tried to tell her.

Anders quickly took his arm and twisted it certain ways, only making Tony clasp his mouth shut and grunt in pain.

"Ow!—" He yelped, glaring at the doctor.

"Well." Anders smiled. "I believe my work is done here."

"So, I can fly the suit?" Tony looked up at him.

"In your dreams." Pepper murmured to him.

"Like Miss Potts said, your arm is still healing, and I'm afraid it'll take some time for the pain to subside. After that, you will have to contact Doctor Kijo. He's SHIELD's physical therapist. He will have to work with you to make sure that your arm is in fit shape and ready for whatever you put it through." He widened his smile and took out a card from his shirt pocket. "If there are any problems, please, don't hesitate to call."

Pepper took the card and nodded pleasantly. "Thank you, Doctor Anders."

"My pleasure." The doctor gathered his things and contently walked out of the workshop, and up the stairs.

Tony quickly turned his head to face Pepper. "Does this mean I can suit up?"

She rolled her eyes at him and placed the business card on top of his desk. "Did you not pay attention to a word the doctor said?" She picked up his blue sling that was near his monitors and handed it back to him.

"Honestly, you're asking me that?" Tony raised an eyebrow up at her, leaping off the stool and accepting it from her."Hey, Dummy." The robot rolled towards him with a compassionate gesture using its robotic arm. "Can you put this stool back to where ever you got it from?"

Tony walked out of the way while Dummy tried his best to grapple one of the stool's legs. He carefully placed his sling back on using his left arm. "Do I really have to put this thing back on?"

"What did the doctor say?"

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"I swear, Tony, you have the attention span of a dog." She rolled her eyes at him.

"So I can take this thing off?" He looked up at her, questioningly.

"I would rather you not, and given what the doctor said, I don't think you can fly the suit for at least a few more weeks." Pepper said with a small frown.

"What?" He practically shouted. A split second after, Dummy's grip on the stool had loosened, thus making the stool crash onto the concrete floor with a loud bang. Both Tony and Pepper looked over at the mechanical sidekick, both giving it a questioning look. Dummy solemnly looked away, using its claw, and tried to pick up the stool again.

"There are people that _need_ Iron Man right now, Pepper." He tried to tell her, but his argument wasn't very plausible, even in his head.

"What kind of argument is that?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him, walking over to a section of the workshop to retrieve some of her art pieces.

"It's a… very…" he paused, obviously not please with the way his argument was going. "… It's a personal… argument-ish matter… ish."

"Nice try, Boss." She rolled her eyes. "You are not getting in that suit and I doubt director Fury would even let you near it."

"Don't call it an 'it', Pepper." He glared at her. "It's my baby." He flashed a small smile at his showcase of suits that were against the wall.

"I thought your hotrod was your baby." She shouted from the corner of his workshop, looking down at an art piece that she had purchased from a well known seller a few months ago.

"It is." He nodded to himself. "And do you know who else is my baby?" He grinned in her direction.

"If you think your clever comments will ease your way into my good side, you are sadly mistaken." She huffed at him, picking up the framed art piece.

He walked over to her and leaned against one of his machinery. He tucked his good arm in his pants pocket and carefully eyed her. He tried his best to flash a innocent, pleasing, and handsome smile. When she finally glanced at him, she had to quickly look away. She half thought of comparing Tony to Medusa… only male, and much more attractive.

"Okay, fine." Tony slowly nodded. "I'll listen to the doctor and wait a couple more weeks."

"A few." She snapped back, picking up another framed piece of art. "I thought you donated all of this to the Boyscouts of America."

"A couple." He grinned at her, trying to push her buttons. "… And I didn't donate _all_ of them."

"Fine." She pressed her lips together and glared at him. "You're waiting two weeks—but right after, you are contact Doctor Kijo and going through physical therapy."

"My god, that'll take forever!" Tony groaned, beginning to pout in front of his girlfriend.

"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Stark." She beamed back at him.

"Patience leads to old age." He shot back at her, looking away.

Pepper put the artwork down and rested her hands on her hips. "Well if you think about it – how many dates can we go on until your two week wait?"

"Fifteen." He breathed. "That'll give us negative one days break time."

Pepper widened her smile at him and tried not to laugh. "Negative one day?"

"Yup." He shifted towards her, making her back into the wall space that stood behind her. Tony glanced down at her lips and then at her eyes – her beautiful cerulean colored eyes. One could only drown one-hundred and a dozen times in those special eyes of hers.

"I _do_ have a lot of work to do on the weekdays, Tony. I don't think we'll be able to have one _every_ day." She teased him; she watched him carefully, and slowly, walk towards her.

He stopped a few centimeters in front of her and felt her hands grasp his hip. After a few moments of drowning in her perfume, he felt the need to trap her body between his, and the wall, using his arm. He pressed his palm against the cool concrete wall behind her, right beside her head.

"I can always build a time machine…" He breathed, leaning in closer.

"I think that's illegal." She smirked up at him.

"Please." He grinned. "I'm Tony Stark. The world 'illegal' isn't even in the Stark Dictionary."

"Egotistical?"

"I love it when you talk dirty." He widened his smile, and began to brush his lips against hers.

Pepper pressed his body against his and kissed him slowly. Their tongues danced for about a split second before they heard another loud crash that originated behind them. Pepper and Tony both pulled away. When their gaze reached the center of the workshop, they saw Dummy's robotic claw look down at the stool that had crashed onto the floor, again.

Tony pressed his lips together and turned back to Pepper. "So, what were you saying?" He asked, leaning in, again.

"Tony—" She smiled up at him. "—I think Dummy needs help."

They heard another crash.

"He's fine." He tried to tell her.

"No, I think—" She tried to tell him, but he immediately cut her off.

"Pepper, there have been a history of people – objects even – that have interrupted us. Please, don't make me write down Dummy as one of them." He furrowed his eyebrows at her, and tried to flash a hurtful look.

He certainly wasn't wrong. Ever since they've gotten together, there have been a number of people, and objects, that have conflicted with their personal life. There was that incident with Captain America.

"_Mm, Pepper—" Tony kissed her sensually. Pepper was leaning against his desk (practically sitting on top of it), while he was in between her, kissing her stress away. They were having a wonderful evening, until Captain America's face flashed on the screen._

_Captain America looked on at the couple and widened his smile. Pepper started to wrap her arms around Tony's neck, and Tony gripped her waist. He began to kiss her harder._

"_Um—I'm sorry—I don't mean to be a… um… rooster blocker, but—"_

_Pepper and Tony immediately separated themselves. He angrily grumbled and looked at the huge monitor behind them. She turned around and immediately gasped._

"_Hi, Steve." He huffed._

"_I should—I'll go." Pepper muttered and proceeded to climb off his desk. He backed away and continued to glare at Captain America, whom was still smiling._

"_I did say I was sorry—I mean there are other words for 'rooster'—" Steve tried to tell Pepper._

"_We get it, Steve." Tony angrily grumbled._

And then there were plenty of times when Fury and Natalie interrupted them. _God, there were so many times…_ Pepper mentally shook her head and began to rub circles into Tony's hip.

"I'll go help him." She whispered.

Tony frowned deeply as his girlfriend slipped under his arm, and out of his grasp. He hung his head low and heavily sighed. All he wanted was a moment of uninterrupted peace with his girlfriend. He should really install some sort of blocker for phone calls and conference feeds. _Sure, because of a picture of a rubber band or a sock will definitely shoo Fury—or whoever—away._ He sarcastically thought to himself.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Special thanks to Marie Nomad for handing me the idea! :) I hope you guys like this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it, haha. **

Tony Stark sat at his desk with Dummy, his mechanical robot, sitting beside him. Dummy carefully watched as he inspected some of the interior mechanics of his Iron Man suit. Tony furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of something odd. There were dozens of fragments from the suit splayed on top of his desk. Most of which were planned to be remodeled into smaller versions, or upgraded.

"Dummy, can you focus?" He glanced at the robot.

Dummy moved his mechanical arm that held the magnifying glass and focused it a little more to the left, right in front of Tony's face.

"Thank-you." Tony flashed a small smile. "JARVIS, can you give me the specs on the C562-B16? It feels like it could be compressed."

"C562-B16 was marked a few months ago by you. You stated that you wanted to upgrade it using the modifications you used on the C522-J100." JARVIS stated. "The specs are displayed on your monitor in front of you."

Tony looked up and saw various diagrams and charts, and a summary. "Thanks for reminding me. I had almost forgotten about J100."

"Excuse me, but, Miss Potts is on line one. Would you like me to politely tell her that you're busy?"

He looked up at the ceiling with a confused look. _Since when did Pepper call me in the middle of the day—and during office hours?_ He looked over at Dummy and waved his hand at him, gesturing him to go do something else in the mean time.

"Um… no, put her on the monitor." Tony looked at his desk. He tried to ignore the various thoughts of cleaning up that rushed through his head.

"Hey." A voice sounded throughout his workshop.

He looked up and saw his beautiful redheaded personal assistant's face displayed on his monitor. He quickly gave her a wide grin and greeted her back.

"Hi." He paused, and looked around his desk. "I was in the middle… of… something… actually Dummy and I were in the middle of going through the Iron Man suit. I think it's a tad bit outdated, don't you think?"

"Oh…" Pepper paused and furrowed her eyebrows, slightly. "…I guess so." She responded, feeling like she had just invaded his 'man' time. "Did you want me to call you later?"

"Um, nah." He shook his head, and glanced at the blue glowing digital clock on his monitor. "We actually have a meeting in an hour – I think – so I guess right now would be a good time to—"

"—Get dressed." She finished his sentence with a small smile.

"Yes. That." He smirked. "Is that why you called, 'cause you usually don't call me unless you want me to get my butt out of bed and into the shower."

"Actually, I wanted to discuss tonight's plans." She shifted in the chair she was sitting in. She wasn't driving or anything. She was still in her office, trying to take care of the last few files that were in her inbox. After Kelly had reminded her about her three o'clock meeting with the last remaining people of Leon Industries, she thought she could use a break.

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows, suddenly interested. "What kind of plans were you thinking about?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie, tonight."

"What kind of movie?" He leaned against his desk, resting his chin on his palm, whilst being careful of his other arm.

"It's a chick flick."

"Oh." Tony looked up at the monitor and saw her give him a curious smile. "C-Can't… Can't you pick… something else?"

Pepper rolled her eyes at him. "What happened to the Tony that said 'I don't care what kind of movie it is, as long as I get to spend time with you'?" She leaned against her desk and tilted her head to the side.

"He's…" Tony looked around his workshop. "…Somewhere."

Pepper laughed at him. She adored how cute he could be, even when he was in his sanctum of grease, sweat, and all things manly. He could honestly try his best to not impress her, but she would always find him adorable. The way he's always caring about her safety, and how she was doing. It was cute; just too cute. "I think you'll actually like this movie."

"Really?" He raised his eyebrow up at her, questioning her words. "Do they involve explosions and machines of destruction?"

"Explosions of a romantic comedy—oh, but there _are_ machines of destruction." She tried to reassure him, but she wasn't sure it quite worked.

"Well… I chose our last movie, so I guess it's only fair that you get to choose tonight's." He grinned at her.

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered every which way. Never in her life had a man affected her like Tony did. It wasn't because of his handsome good looks, or his charming smile. It was because no one had seen Tony care so much about a woman. But she was front and center for him, and he tried not to hold back.

"And since _you_ are choosing the movie, It's only appropriate that _I_ get to choose what comes after the mov—" He was abruptly stopped by a flustered, and somewhat angry Pepper.

She raised an eyebrow at him and huffed, "No."

"Aw, c'mon, Pepper. What better way to get rid of the old office stress than to have—"

"No." She glared at him, trying not to smile at his failed attempts. "So, I'll see you in an hour?" She heard a knock on the glass door to her office, making her look up. Kelly stood there with her finger repeatedly tapping her wrist watch. Pepper looked at the time and immediately remembered her appointment.

"Yeah…" He solemnly pressed his lips together and looked around for his rag to wipe the grease off his fingers.

"Oh god, I have to go. I completely forgot I have a lunch appointment with the VP of Meg & Hart Enterprises." She began to look around for purse.

Tony's ears perked up; he furrowed his eyebrows at her through the monitor. "… a lunch date?" You can't blame Tony Stark for getting jealous - or the least bit worried. It's like hearing your friend ask you if he could see your teddy bear and abruptly stealing it away from you, causing you to chase him around the playground with tears rolling down your face. _That was not a good day…_

"It's a formal appointment that involves lunch – and don't worry, you're safe. He's not nearly as adorable as you are." She reached over her desk for her purse, giving Tony an excellent view.

He grinned at this sight whilst thinking about her compliment. "You think I'm adorable?"

She leaned back into her chair and heavily sighed. When she finally looked down at the monitor, she saw him grinning like a child in a candy store. Pepper couldn't help but form an endearing smile. "See you later, Tony."

"Bye." He kept his charming smile, even after she ended the video call.

There weren't nearly enough minutes in a day for Tony's attempts in wooing his girlfriend. Being his usual self, he wanted to continue to persuade, or pressure, her into finally joining him in the sack—_Joining me in the sack? What the hell, Tony?_— But for the past few months, she had rejected him—_I'm pretty sure the time I had food poisoning didn't count as a rejection_. Pepper had reassured him that it was _going_ to happen, sooner or later. _Although, I would much rather have it sooner than later_.

He was sure there were going to be multiple times after the first—_oh god, there definitely will be _—however, executing the first time was always a predicament. He wanted it to be fast and exciting, but at the same time, he wanted it to be to her liking – memorable and passionate.

Tony spun in his chair, thinking of the multiple times of him and his other conquests. He furrowed his eyebrows at the blinding memories of fast, unmemorable, and easy sex. He didn't want it to be like that—_Hell no, I don't!_ He really cared about Pepper. He didn't want it to be like his other times. He wanted it to be _far better_ than that.

"Sir, you have less than forty minutes to get ready for your meeting." JARVIS reminded him, thus bringing him back down from his wandering state.

Tony blinked rapidly before looking up at the ceiling, and then back at his blank monitor that had the faintest outline of Pepper's beautiful face. "Thanks JARVIS." He murmured.

**REPAIR; CHAPTER 26 **

"God, that meeting was awful—" Tony walked through the front door with his hand in his pocket. He heavily sighed before turning around to face Pepper. He was met with a glare from her beautiful redheaded face. "—ly exciting?"

"I cannot believe the excuse you gave them when they asked about your arm." She huffed, storming past him, with her purse around the crook of her elbow.

"What's wrong with saying that an unknown blast from one of my machines made me crash into the wall in an awkward position?" He furrowed his eyebrows, carefully watching her every move.

"Well, for one thing, the vice president of Leon Industries didn't see very convinced of your excuse. And what made matters worse was what they asked you." Pepper turned around with her arms across her chest.

"_Mr. Stark, we understand that Greg Leon was at the Charity Ball Miss Potts and you attended. I know this is a business matter, but I was wondering if there was anything he said to you that you can recall that would make the company a target." Vice President, Dylan Trude, of Leon Industries asked him. He sat across the table with his hands folded together on top of a bunch of business papers. He wore a white and brown business suit that complimented his eyes, but certainly not his ego._

_Pepper nudged Tony a little, making him spring back to life from his daydream. "Ah yes, I was there." He paused, extending his index finger in the air. "And I can fully tell you that he was an assertive jackass."_

_Pepper whipped her head around, with her mouth gapped, and stared at him. She almost thought of yelling at him right then and there, but decided to keep her cool and explain to them what he actually meant. "Um…" She turned to the agreeably shocked remaining members of Leon Industries. "What Mr. Stark is saying is that—"_

"_He was a dick to me." Tony interrupted her, moving his chair forward and sitting up. "He tried to tell me how I'm a hazard to everyone around me. If that guy was any more of a self intruding bastard I would've—"_

_Pepper immediately stepped on his foot with an angry force that shouldn't be reckoned with. He abruptly stopped talking and tried not to yelp in pain or ask her what that was for. _

"_Mr. Stark is truly sorry to hear about Greg Leon's death. We understand that the family was kind enough to invite us to his funeral but due to recent activities, I think it's best if we pay our respects to the man -after- the funeral." She pressed her lips together and smiled politely._

_The vice president, assistant to the president, the secretary, and the chief of their engineering division sat there with their mouths gapped for a few moments. The secretary looked at Tony in an insulting way while the assistant to the president looked at Pepper with a furrowed look._

"Can you really blame me, Pepper?" Tony shrugged, following her into the kitchen. "The man was a complete asshole to me at that event."

"And you felt like it was appropriate to talk about the deceased like that—in front of his business partners—no less?" She glared at him again, trying to burn holes in his handsome black blazer.

"…" He thought about it for a second. "…Okay, I can understand it was _wrong_ of me to say it to them like _that_ - but I was acting myself, Pepper. _And_ they kept intruding with their 'Hey, lets merge' and 'Mr. Stark, your arm! Are you okay?'." He tried to impersonate them. "I was getting tired of it."

"Yes, so was I, but at least learn to keep your words to yourself." She opened the fridge with ease and reached for a chilled open bottle of water. "I mean, the remaining board of Leon Industries was kind enough to ask us if we wanted any of their resources in exchange for a few connections to get their business back up again."

"I don't need their resources." He huffed, leaning against the counter, watching her take a swig from the bottle.

She handed him the bottle and stood there with her hands resting on her hip. "Yes, you said that multiple times during the meeting." She rolled her eyes at him.

"_We have talked amongst ourselves for a period of time," Vice President, Dylan, started out, "And we have agreed to ask for your considerable option of giving us a few of your contacts. In doing so, we will grant you an abundant amount of our resources."_

_Pepper looked at him like he was crazy. Everybody, if anyone, knows that Stark Industries has already a massive amount of resources, much to Tony's knowledge. The company wouldn't need anything from Leon Industries._

"_Nope." Tony shook his head. "I don't need them."_

"_Well, we're thinking about changing them-" Dylan asked him again._

"_Don't need them." Tony said again._

"_- if you would please consider-"_

"_I have enough resources. I don't need them." Tony looked away, and then stared at the space in the middle of the conference table._

"_- any of our viable offers." Dylan huffed, and promptly looked at Pepper. He indicated some sort of intervene to actually get a chance to talk about his offers._

"_I don't think Mr. Stark, or Stark Industries, needs any more resources than we already have—" Pepper tried to politely tell him, but Tony interrupted her, again._

"_I could honestly get better resources at the local dump." He muttered under his breath, intended for Pepper, and maybe some of the other members, to hear. She rolled her eyes in impatience and simply carried on with her statement, but it didn't help their cause since Dylan completely backed out of that proposal._

"Look, I'm sorry." He tried to apologize for his actions. He placed the bottle on the counter and tugged at her wrist. Pepper crooked the corner of her mouth and pressed her lips together.

She was particularly happy with what he did, but then again, he was being himself—his egotistical, compulsive, and narcissistic self. She tried not to smile; she tried not to show him any signs of forgiveness. But then again, a part of her couldn't resist his charming smile and puppy dog pouting. She always wondered how he got his way – and she just figured out how.

She walked towards him disapprovingly and felt his arm wrap around her waist. He pulled her closer and tenderly kissed her cheek. Being her forgiving self, she unraveled her hands and agreeably set her hands on both sides of his chest.

"At least we got out of the funeral, right?" He smiled to himself before looking down at the woman in his arms. Pepper looked up at him and couldn't help but laugh. Only _he_ would say that.

"Funerals aren't a bad thing." She rested her cheek against his chest and nudged him.

He began to furrow his eyebrows in consideration. "Well, yes, they are certainly not a bad thing, but I didn't want to stand there – at Greg Leon's funeral – and only think of how he was used, abused, and killed for his technology."

Pepper stood there while he rubbed her lower back and considered it for a moment. "Okay, you have a good point, but I'm still mad at you for what happened at that meeting."

"I said I was sorry…" He mumbled, trying not to argue.

"And for that, your punishment will be to watch that movie with me. The _whole_ movie – and no dozing off." She glared up at him, while he responded with a small, and unsure, smile.

"You call that punishment?" He smirked. "You should've seen it when my father had to punish me. He took away my tool set." Tony began to pout. "Those were my favorite tools."

Pepper laughed at him and began to peel herself away from his grasp. "I'm going to go change."

"Want me to make popcorn?" He asked her, watching her walk out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

She paused and thought about it for a moment. "Do I want the LAPD and the fire department here? No thanks. I'll make it."

He stood there with a warm smile, and contently chased after her into his bedroom to change. Leave it to Pepper to insult in him such a way that could only make him smile. He could hardly remember when he truly got mad at her, much less stay mad at her, although he could recall multiple—no hundreds— of times when she was absolutely infuriated with him.

**REPAIR; CHAPTER 26**

Tony and Pepper sat there, on the white vanilla couch, together with a bowl of popcorn in between them. Tony had changed into a white t-shirt and a pair of blue sweats, while Pepper changed into a purple spaghetti strap tank top and a pair of blank shorts. She was lying against Tony's right side with his arm gingerly draped over her waist. There was a soft blue blanket draped over her lower half.

They sat there staring at the screen in front of them while Pepper repeatedly popped popcorn into her and Tony's mouth. He chewed slowly and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why is she so hell bent on saving the community building? It's not like this chump will actually save it." He paused. "What exactly are we watching?"

"Two Weeks Notice." Pepper responded. "How do you know this 'chump' won't save it? He seems like a really nice guy."

"Pepper, he's been with dozens of girls—oh, and lets not forget about the divorce. What kind of person would ever marry that womanizing CEO?" He sat there, accepting another kernel from Pepper.

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows and slowly looked up at him. Tony's eyes were glued to the screen. _Wow, he's actually paying attention to this movie._ She looked back at the screen and watched the couple. "You know, if you take away the accent, his attentiveness, and his actual care for his company, he kind of portrays a certain person."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "There is no way in hell that man could resemble me." He completely denied it. "I may have been a play boy and-and-and an ass, but there is no way I'd actually do _that_."

He effectively pointed to the screen right when the womanizing CEO had called his, what seems like, secretary slash chief counselor, at 2:15AM, asking for a chat.

"Now, see, I have never done that to you." He tried to argue, completely unaware of his past situations.

"Yes, you have." She argued, looking up at him and then back at the screen.

"What?..." He furrowed his eyebrows. "When?"

"Trust me, you have called me at the wee hours in the morning over a hundred times, and I'm pretty sure I could use Happy _and_ Rhodey as witnesses—oh, _and_ JARVIS." She pointedly said.

"What? No way." He huffed. "JARVIS—"

"You have called Miss Potts, after midnight, three hundred and forty-seven times in the last few years. Would you like me to calculate the total from when she was hired as your personal assistant?" The AI responded bluntly.

Tony gritted his teeth together and mumbled something incoherently. "Point made." He muttered under his breath.

Pepper smirked to herself and continued to watch the movie. She was sure how Tony would react to the end. She had watched it with her friends more than once, and each and every time, they would argue over the successfulness of the couple's relationship. Pepper didn't have a permanent opinion of the end, seeing as how she was experiencing it herself.

"Okay, now _that_ I would never do." He gestured towards the screen. "I would never interrupt you – at a wedding no less – and ask you for your opinion on what suit I should wear."

"No, you wouldn't." She agreed. "But you really need to learn how to tie your own tie."

"I _do_ know how to tie my own tie… I just like it when you do it for me." He grinned. "It gives me a chance to _thank_ you."

Throughout most of the movie, Tony had compared himself to the womanizing CEO. There were a bit of times when Pepper agreed with his observations, but then again, there were more times when she argued with him over the similarities. Most of the time, JARVIS had to chime in with corrections just to make Pepper's point more considerable.

"Okay, see, that chump didn't keep his promise." Tony angrily spat.

"Tony, it's like _you_ giving me the CEO position as a diversion from the fact that you were dying." She paused to look up at him. He was solemnly quiet after her comment. "He _used_ his promise just so he could have a chief counselor."

"I _did_ tell you I was dying, though."

"_Yeah_." She said bluntly. "_After_ you weren't dying – not during."

Tony squeezed her waist with his hand and gently rubbed in circles. He wasn't particularly comfortable with having the same argument with her, and he definitely didn't want to make her anymore mad than she already was. He leaned to the side and carefully placed a kiss on the side of her head. Pepper understood his gesture and responded by endearingly nudging his side.

After the movie ended, Pepper gently removed herself from his side and sat to face him. "See, there were wrecking balls – machines of destruction – and an explosion of romantic comedy." She grinned at him.

"You know…" he smiled back, tugging the hem of her tank top; pulling her in. "…There are _some_ similarities between our story and _their_ story."

"Really, now?" She raised an eyebrow at him and began to chuckle at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared into his soft brown eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded, resting his hand against her waist. "We both got the girl."

She leaned in for a quick kissed. "True."

"We both started the relationship with a kiss." He felt Pepper plant another kiss on his lips.

"Mhm." She hummed, staring down at his lips for a brief second.

"I'm pretty sure she agreed to move in with him." He instantly noticed the change in her body language.

Pepper looked up at him in utter confusion. She furrowed her eyebrows, paused a bit, and tilted her head to the side; her smile soon turned into a frown. "What?" She couldn't quite grasp the words he asked her. Did she hear right? Well, she knew what he asked… _I think_. But she wasn't sure of her response. She didn't want to choose the wrong words and suddenly end up in a break-up.

"Do…" He pressed his lips together, unsure if it was the right time. "…Do you want to move in… with me?" He furrowed his eyebrows, and looked down at her.

"Tony…" She breathed, unraveling her arms from his neck, and leaned into the couch. Pepper turned her head and saw him scratch the back of his head.

With a heavy sigh and a playful laugh, "Too soon… I guess?" He glanced over at her.

"It's not that…" She paused momentarily. "It's not that I don't want to… It's… It's just that…" God, she felt awful.

"No… no…" He shook his head and abruptly got up from his spot. "It's… too… soon—listen, let's just forget I ever asked, and uh… let's just go to bed. Okay?" He looked down at her.

When she looked up at him, she didn't see the same soft brown eyes. They were a little darker, as if he couldn't bear the ongoing rejection that was happening. Pepper agreeably, and silently, nodded. She got up from her seat and took his hand in hers, weaving their fingers together.

Pepper had clung onto his arm and gently kissed his shoulder, as if she were trying to apologize.

It wasn't the happiest ending they've had, but it definitely wasn't the worst. Pepper wrapped her arm around his waist and apologetically rubbed her cheek into his side. He silently accepted it by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, just above her head; rubbing it gently. She accepted his attempt, but couldn't help but wonder if she had hurt his feelings on more ways than one. He acted like it didn't even happen, although he wasn't sure why she said no. If anything, he was sure to ring up Rhodey tomorrow, in search for answers.

**A/N: I swear, those kids will be the death of me! Robert Downey Jr is so cute with his wife. I'm certainly jealous, but it's so cute to see them constantly in their honeymoon phase. My little cousin asked me why I like Robert Downey Jr, but like him **_**with**_** his wife. My answer: They're just too cute to break up. Following that, I told her: Of all the couples in Hollywood, I'm betting Robert and his wife will go to one hundred and five years old. Still married, and still very happy. :) Good night everyone (League of Legends time).**


	27. Chapter 27

It was far from a normal day. Pepper was the first to wake up to the rain pounding against the windows. She ran her hand through her hair and looked outside the window with a confused look. Over ten hours ago, the sun was shining in all of its glory. It was a beautiful day yesterday, yet the rain continued to clash against the glass that kept Tony and her dry.

She felt the body next to her stir awake after a few seconds of gazing outside the window that showcased a huge storm.

Pepper glanced behind her and saw him slowly get up. He sat there, next to her, and joined her gaze. He held a solemn look for a few minutes before he dragged his feet out of bed. His head hung low, wishing that the weather didn't portray his feelings.

A couple showers and a few awkward moments later, Tony had dragged himself downstairs to see what he could salvage from whatever was inside the fridge. He thought Pepper had already left for work but was highly mistaken when he met her gaze in the kitchen.

He wore a pair of jeans and a black cotton t-shirt. His eyes drifted to her casual business suit attire and tried not to make his feelings any more obvious than they already were. He wasn't sure of their stance in their relationship. Sure, he was crushed that she said 'no' to moving in with him, but he didn't want to give her the complete and ultimate silent treatment.

"Hey." He breathed, and proceeded to walk into the kitchen.

She watched his movements and greeted him back. "Hi."

Pepper poured coffee into two mugs and gingerly handed him on. He looked down at the cup, wondering what he should say to her. His thoughts ran wild, but before his mind could complete a sentence, his eyes were already locked with her gaze.

"Thanks." He softly pressed his lips together, feeling the cup land gently in his hand.

She didn't call him out on his unusual and totally acceptable behavior, nor did she ring answers out of him. Pepper simply said 'you're welcome' and continued on with her kitchen objective. She turned her back to him and quietly fixed herself something to eat, as well as her future lunch.

He made a quick glance at her, trying to read her body language, but instead, felt like retreating to his workshop. He couldn't find the courage to talk to her, or the words to say to her. So, he quickly kissed her cheek and walked past her, towards his workshop, with his cup of coffee in his good arm's hand.

Pepper watched him silently walk down the stairs. She held back every urge that told her to find out why he was acting like a child that was giving his mother the silent treatment. She knew why he was quiet, but how could he expect her to just say 'yes' after he landed the 'semi' big question.

She could've gone down there and asked him why he was acting like he just got rejected to prom. She could've told JARVIS to block him from his workshop so that he _had no choice_ but to talk to her. She could've scolded him for acting like a baby.

She could've done so many things to avoid any future awkward and abrupt conversations, just like the one that happened a few seconds ago, but she was late for work. She knew Tony's beginner status in the relationship, so she reminded herself dozens of times about it, and decided to talk to him after she got back from the office.

Pepper poured the rest of her coffee cup's contents into a small travel mug, and picked up her purse that sat at the corner of the counter. She slowly walked out the door, into the pouring rain, that constantly reminded her about last night's conversation. She had no choice but to shove those thoughts out. Pepper Potts was dedicated to her work – to her job. But, she knew she would later retreat to those aching thoughts and feelings that would endlessly continue to plague her mind.

There was a remedy to this predicament. Both of them knew that much.

* * *

"She flat out said 'no'." Tony sat at his desk, in front of three monitors; one of those three showcased Rhodey's face and little of his upper body.

Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows in response. "Are you sure it was a flat 'no'?" He folded his arms across his chest, expecting Tony to elaborate.

"She built up to it, but all arrows pointed to this huge lit up, neon blue sign, that said, in big letters, 'NO'." He exaggerated, leaning his forehead against the palm of his hand. He ran his hand down his face and heavily sighed. "This morning wasn't any better."

"Yeah." Rhodey nodded, acting a bit surprised. "This rain came out of nowhere."

"Do you think Mother Nature could be any more furious?" Tony stared down at his metal table. His ears rung when Dummy's robotic cry rolled towards him. He glanced by the table and saw a tissue in his mechanical arm. He rolled his eyes at the robot. "I'm _fine_ Dummy. You don't have to—" Dummy released the tissue on top of his desk and watched him with curiosity.

"Not to be a jinx, but she could add in a few thunder storms, a hurricane, and a tornado." Rhodey turned around to look outside of his window and noticed the sudden increase in rain.

"I barely said a sentence to Pepper this morning." Tony heavily sighed.

"You shouldn't _really_ take it this personally, Tony." Rhodey tried to explain to him.

Feeling a bit worked up, Tony snapped back at him. "How can I not take this personally? Five times out of seven, Pepper stays over night. She practically lives here—"

"But have you actually talked to her about it?" Rhodey raised an eyebrow at him. He watched him linger in front of his desk for a few moments.

"No." Tony angrily grumbled.

"Put it this way: asking someone to move in is-is like asking someone to marry you. It's a _huge_ step. It basically says that you're really serious about the relationship."

"But I _am_ serious." Tony tried to tell him.

"If you look at it through Pepper's end, you have endless years of experiencing a non-serious Tony; a play boy, millionaire, lazy—"

"—Hey, watch it." Tony narrowed his eyes at him through the monitor.

"What I'm trying to say is that Pepper might not be _that_ convinced about how serious you are about the relationship." Rhodey pressed his lips together and casually glanced down at his watch. "Look, I need to get back to work. I'm on War Machine duty."

"War Machine duty?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows up at him.

"The Senator stopped his nagging, yes, but the military disapproved of keeping the suit at my house, so it stays here at the base. I told the Senator that there needs to be constant surveillance around the suit at all times." Rhodey began to tamper with the buttons on his screen.

"Before you go—" Tony tried to stop him, but ended up getting cut off.

"It doesn't hurt to just talk to her." Rhodey rolled his eyes at him and abruptly cut off their call. Both ends went dark, making Rhodey go back to his work, and Tony go back to moping.

Tony sat there in silence for a few moments before feeling something brush up against his arm. He looked to his side and saw Dummy trying to hand him another tissue.

"What am I going to do with you?" He looked down at his faithful sidekick, grinning slightly.

"Sir, there are a few interior parts of the suit that you wanted me to remind you to look over." JARVIS suddenly announced.

"Thanks for reminding me." Tony glanced up at the ceiling. With a heavy sigh, he got up from his seat and drifted over to his Iron Man suit. He inspected the exterior with his finger and carefully looked inside. Most of the parts were on the table next to him where they craved his attention.

"Would you like me to prepare the specs of each part?" The AI asked him.

"Yes, thank you." He paused for a moment, and furrowed his eyebrows. "JARVIS, what do you think of Pepper and I, and our little predicament?"

"You haven't installed the program into my servers yet. I cannot properly assess the problem yet." JARVIS quickly told him.

"For obvious reasons, of course not." Tony smirked. "Forget it. What I _need_ is a nice refreshing cup of coffee, and some work." He glanced down at the parts and gently moved his right arm that was still in its blue sling. "If only my damn arm…" He started to yank on the strap.

"I have strict orders from Pepper to inform her of any activity that include the removal of your sling."

"What?" Tony practically shouted. "Since when did you take orders from Pepper?"

"Since you gave her the administration access codes."

Tony was baffled. He couldn't even remember when he had given her any kind of administration access codes. _Maybe when I was drunk… or out of my mind… _"I don't even remember when—"

"I believe you stated, just before you granted her the codes, that she was the only person you could trust with your possessions." JARVIS responded.

"Well…" Tony pressed his lips together. "…That's true. Traitor." He angrily grumbled before walking across the workshop. He dragged a rolling stool over to the metal table and sat down in front of the many fragments that formed his suit. Alas, he still couldn't stop thinking about Pepper. "Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?"

"The suit is not as complicated as it seems. You have done this a hundred times, Sir." JARVIS blatantly said, making Tony look up at the ceiling in annoyance.

Tony grumbled under his breath and heavily sighed. He tool one of his tools from the edge of the table and got to work on the armor piece in front of him. He had no intentions of giving Pepper the silent treatment for more than two days. There was no way he could ever ignore her for forty-eight hours. It was unbearable and frustrating. Of all the people in the world, how could something so simple turn into something so complicated?

* * *

It took twenty minutes for Pepper to drive home. The traffic was horrendous. Upon being stuck in traffic, she ran her conversation over with Tony in her head a few times. There were other alternatives than just talking it out – god knows Tony has thought of them plenty of times – but she wanted to be simple. _Sure, think of a simple relationship with Tony. Nearly impossible._

She opened the front door and expected the whole house to be pitch black, expect for Tony's workshop. The kitchen light was on and so was the living room light. Tony sat there, on the couch, and was quietly thumbing through the channels on the television. He could tell when she entered his place. It wasn't the obvious noise of the door clicking open and slamming shut. It was her scent that filled the room within seconds. It could all just be in his head…

"Hey." She greeted him, dropping her purse on top of the kitchen counter.

He glanced behind him and saw her flash a small smile. "Hi." He calmly and solemnly greeted back. He turned his attention back to the television and changed the channel more than twice.

"What did you do today?" She asked, feeling his silence fill the room with ease.

"Worked on the…" He paused to change the channel. "…suit." He pressed his lips together and changed the channels again. He _wanted_ to talk to her about it, but he couldn't quite put his thumb on how to start it.

Pepper couldn't take it anymore. He was acting like a complete baby. He was making it very noticeable about how upset he was. She didn't blame him for the way he acted that morning, but to continue throughout the whole entire evening?

She calmly walked out of the kitchen and towards the couch. With every step, she laid her gaze on him, making sure that he didn't give her any excuse to leave. When she passed the arm rest, Tony carefully looked up at her and watched her every move.

_Shit!_ Tony cursed to himself. _She looks pissed._ He pressed his lips together again and focused on the television once more. Before he could bring himself to even stare her in the eyes, he panicked and stood up from his seat.

"I feel like having some Chinese take-out. Don't you?" He abruptly announced.

Before he could jog towards the kitchen, Pepper stopped him. "Tony, sit down." She breathed, and watched him slowly take his seat again. She sat down next to him and turned towards him, tucking one of her legs underneath herself. "We need to talk about this…"

"Pepper, I'm fine, okay?" He still didn't look at her; he only looked away.

His denial only made her that much more antsy. She hated it when Tony denied his feelings, how he felt, or the plain obvious. "Tony, you're not _fine._ We _need_ to talk about this."

He still didn't look her in the eyes. His thoughts drifted off, thus making him sit there in silence. He didn't know what to say to her. A part of him wanted to just kiss her until she forgot why they were fighting – or better yet, what she was doing here. But, Tony was a changed man. _I wouldn't be here, with Pepper, if I hadn't changed,_ he thought to himself. No more running. No more hiding. This was his opportunity; here and now.

Pepper scooted closer to him and stared at his cheek, hoping he'd turn his head to face her. "Did you really think I would say yes?"

Tony sighed, and slowly turned his head. He ended up looking down at her hands that were right next to him. "Yes." He grumbled. "I mean, most of your stuff is here. Your whole closet is practically in my room… I don't see what the big deal is. You spend more time here than you do at your condo."

"Tony…" She sighed. "…Sometimes… I just need to retreat somewhere – somewhere where I'm comfortable."

"You seem quite comfortable here." He pressed his lips together, finally looking down at her. For the millionth time, he saw her look of disappointment aimed right at him. She wasn't pissed off. She wasn't miserable. She was disappointed about how he acted.

"Why are you acting like this?" She finally asked him, still trying to get a read on his thoughts.

"B-Because I don't know what you want from me." He breathed, unable to control his thoughts. "We're cuddling on the couch one minute, and the next minute, you're completely rejecting the idea of moving into my place."

"…I'm…" She sighed, and crooked the side of her mouth. "I'm just not ready."

Before he could even think it through, "Well, then maybe we both aren't ready."

It took her all of two seconds to figure out what he just said. She furrowed her eyebrows, looked up at him, and paused. "What?"

"I… I just don't know…." He looked away and pressed his lips together in frustration. "I want you—"

"What?" She immediately gasped, eyeing him carefully.

"—Here. I want you here." He repeated, finally able to look into her eyes. "And last night… it felt like you didn't want to be here – with me." Tony's eyes were a much softer brown. He was feeling more miserable than hurt.

"You know how much I care about you. I'm just not ready to permanently move in here." She lifted her hand up to her face to rub the bridge of her nose. Work had exhausted her to an extent, and dealing with Tony's troubles was a whole other chore. "I just want to be able to retreat back to my condo apartment, and be able to feed my fish, and read a book while bathing in a bubble bath."

"You can do that here." He quickly stated, trying not to sound like a needy jerk.

"The tabloids would certainly be suspicious to see me constantly walking in and out of your house, and never setting foot near my apartment." She flashed a small smile up at him, waiting for his response.

He looked in the distance and thought about it for a second. "Okay…good point."

"I'm just not ready, Tony – and you kind of laid the question on me out of the blue. I mean, maybe if you hinted at it—" She slightly shrugged, trying to make him feel a little better.

"So, if I hinted at it, you would've said yes?" He furrowed his eyebrows, looking down at her.

"No." She drew her answer out, trying not to smirk at his attempts of re-evaluating his plan. "What I mean, is that I just need some time to process everything."

"So… time." He nodded to himself before shaking his head. "Time is not something I have."

"But it's something you'll have to get used to." She scooted closer to him and gently laid her head against his arm. "In _time_ I could move in and in _time_ we could have… you know." She glanced up at him with a small smile, hoping he got the gist of what she meant.

"And… maybe, in _time_, you can sleep over… and by _in time_, I mean now." He kissed the top of her head and grinned down at her.

She nudged him in the ribs and smirked at his attempts to get her to stay. "I actually wanted to go home tonight. My fish need feeding."

"Wait, you actually have fish?"

"Yup." She nodded, sitting up in her spot.

"Do you have any other pets I should know about – you know, for future use. I might need to fish-proof the house… and maybe the workshop." He crooked the side of his mouth in thought.

She widened her grin, trying not to laugh at his crazy and adorable antics. "I do have a cat."

"How irresponsible, Miss Potts." He abruptly, and jokingly, said. "You're spending the night with me, and at the same time, starving your cat. I'm sure that's a pretty good reason to move in with me."

"Funny, Tony." She giggled to herself. "My neighbor feeds him when I'm not home."

"Oh, it's a boy? What's his name?" He asked her with a hint of curiosity in his tone.

Pepper stood up and began to walk over to the counter. "I originally named him Jasper, but seeing as how he constantly gets into trouble, can't feed himself, and always wants to sleep with me, I might as well name him Tony."

"Funny." He watched her, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "He's a lucky cat if he gets to sleep with you every time."

Tony Stark was always known for his charming good looks and his wonderful ability to draw women to his bedside. The only woman that seemed to be immune to his charm was none other than Pepper Potts. She always threw his flirtatious acts aside and got right down to company business. For the first time, Pepper felt the walls that protected her from his charm slowly crumble. She had every urge to push him down on the couch and kiss him until he couldn't breathe. You could call it murder, or you could call it the flaws of a woman. In any case, she immediately waved good-bye to him before her hormones could take over.

**A/N: Funny story: my friends got me a Robert Downey Jr body pillow for my birthday (sounds creepy, huh? Lol). It recently scared the jeepers out of my dad because the pillow was lying next to me, near the edge of the bed. When he walked into my room to talk to me (I was half asleep), he thought the body pillow was some guy that was sleeping in my bed. Haha, he looked like he was about to yell at me. It was funny. So very funny. My poor dad, lol.**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a week! I was having too much fun with my friends, and video games, but I assure you, this is a long chapter (to me it is, lol). I hope you enjoy it! Also, I have nothing against cats. I think they're super cute, but the way I found out how allergic I was to them was horrible (but they're so fluffy!). I'm more of a dog lover. I love my dog. He gets angry if he can't kiss you, lol.**

Tony Stark rarely left his house to do anything, except to escort his girlfriend to a fancy, and secluded, restaurant, go to Stark Industries for a horrendous meeting, or jump in his Iron Man suit and save the world. It wasn't normal for him to leave his workshop when he had mechanics, schematics, and repulsion rays running through his brain. He was never once the man to see a woman a second time, after sleeping with them that is, and neither was he the type of person to go their house. That changed when _he_ changed.

So, there he stood, at the threshold of Pepper's condo slash apartment. Well, she always went back and forth between the two words—what's important is, is that she lived there.

The woman of his dreams, the woman that almost (could have) gotten away. The woman that helped him become a better man. The woman that has the deadliest stare, the most beautiful eyes, and the most light and shining smile. His partner in crime. Pepper Potts.

She stood there, about two feet past the threshold of the front door. When she noticed he wasn't following her, she turned around, her curiosity peaking.

Pepper saw him standing there, his mouth gapped, and his feet planted on the ground with equal force. She couldn't help but chuckle at this sight.

"I'm pretty sure you're not a vampire." She grinned at him. "But, just in case – Mr. Stark, you are welcome to come in."

Tony still stood there, but with a slight grin on his face. "Ha ha," he sarcastically said.

She looked behind her and noticed her normal, yet crowded house. There were shelves and shelves of books. Not all of them were romance novels, or business binders. Some of them were actually about pets and oceanic life. Her condo was normal. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen, and a very small living room. Sure, being Tony Stark's personal assistant brings home the bacon, but she was highly attached to her condo. It was her first place after moving out of her parents' house.

"I swear my house doesn't have cooties." She laughed at him, and walked further into her place. As always, she placed her purse on the counter of the kitchen. She strolled back to the front door to see if he was still there, and he was.

He looked almost like a frozen homosapien you'd see at a museum behind a red velvet rope, and Windex clean glass.

"Okay, seriously, do I need to drag you in here?" She raised her eyebrow at him.

"I've… um…" he tried to start out. "It's been a while since I stepped foot inside another woman's place."

"It's an apartment, Tony. Not a board meeting." She joked. After seeing him waddle back and forth behind the threshold, she abruptly launched her hand out, grabbed him by the hem of his black jacket and tugged him inside.

He stumbled forward and latched onto her body. Tony worriedly looked around. He began to mindlessly wrap his arms around her waist. Pepper endearingly grinned and stretched her arms out to wrap them around his neck.

"Why are you so fidgety?" She smirked at him, trying to hold him still.

"Okay, Rhodey doesn't know this, and neither does Happy. Actually, nobody knows about this other than my parents and Stane." He spoke fast.

"Did you burn down a woman's house or something?" She joked, trying not to laugh. It only made Tony give her a sour expression.

"I was really young, and I wanted to take this girl to prom…" He sighed, hoping he could finally rid himself of the horrible memory. "…Long story short, her father chased me out of the house, and I lived to tell about it."

Pepper stared at him for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. "Haha, what in the world did you do to that poor girl?"

"Her father was my father's business rival. Basically, once he found out I was Tony Stark, he ordered me out of his house and proceeded to chase after me. It was only sheer luck that her mother was more understanding. She reprimanded him while I booked it out of there." He explained to her. He felt a little embarrassed to tell her that story. Of all of the stories he had with Rhodey, plus various drinking situations, he had never once thought of reciting, or reminiscing, of that particular horrifying night.

"Wow." She raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to burst out laughing.

"Don't judge me." He grumbled, trying to look away.

"I think that request was tossed out the window a decade ago." She grinned at him. She never judged him since the tabloids and news anchors did it for her. Waking up to a pot of coffee and various adjectives that described her boss was a normal morning for her.

"So, what are the sleeping arrangements?" He curiously grinned at her, trying to shove those horrendous memories out of his mind. "I certainly think it should involve some fruit, tangled sheets, and moa—"

"If you think you're getting _that lucky_, you're highly mistaken—" She teased him, but was abruptly cut off by someone else.

"Virginia?" A man behind them said with a questioning tone.

Pepper swiftly turned around just as Tony looked up to see who it was. He immediately retracted his hands away from her waist and kept them at his side. His heart beat fast knowing one of Pepper's neighbors had seen them together. Pepper told him that she wasn't ready to be public with their relationship. _Maybe that was included in her 'in time' speech, _he thought to himself. He could feel his adrenaline rise. He could already see the headlines of tomorrow morning's newspaper. _Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, Caught!_

"Mr. Kelser." Pepper breathed in relief.

The man had dark sunglasses on and a white thin stick that was attached to his wrist. He had grey head of hair, but looked no older than sixty. He looked up curiously as if he were trying to find her. He smile endearingly and casually tapped the sides of her threshold.

"I was going on a walk and heard you talking. It's nice to see you home. How is work treating you?" He looked in front of him, still unable to find Pepper's form.

"Still occupying all of my attention." She smiled. "I'm so sorry you had to feed Jasper for a whole week. Please, let me know how much I owe you."

He laughed humbly. "You work for that sly womanizing man, Tony Stark. I feel like I owe your cat some attention. When are you going to try and get a _real_ job?"

Tony furrowed his eyebrows at him. _Did he not know I was right here? Wait a second… womanizing!_ "Now—"

"Working for Tony Stark is a _real_ job, I assure you." She managed to nudge Tony in the ribs.

"Remember, a job should consist of something you're passionate about. Anything else is an endless nightmare of misery." The man tapped the sides of her threshold again. Pepper glanced up at Tony and flashed him an endearing smile before returning her attention back to her blind neighbor. "Anyways, Jasper is around here somewhere. I already fed him."

"Thank you, Mr. Kesler. I promise, I'll repay you for all your trouble." She walked up to the man and gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He patted her forearm thoughtfully and smiled.

"Please, your cat is very good company. Good night, Virgina." He nodded thoughtfully and proceeded to walk down the hall, tapping all corners with his stick. Pepper poked her head out to watch him leave before slowly closing the door. She turned around and laid her eyes on a very confused Tony Stark.

"What—"

"He's blind." She reassured him. "Did he scare you?"

"Well, yeah." He watched her walk past him and towards the kitchen. "I mean, I thought we got caught…" Pepper opened the fridge to get some water. He walked towards her direction and leaned against the counter in thought. "…it's what you want, right?"

"Hm?" She hummed, turning around to face him.

"You don't want our relationship to go public." His elbows were on top of the counter while his hands found an interesting salt shaker at the corner of the counter. He fondled it in his hands thoughtfully. "That _is_ what you said to me."

"I know what I said to you." She practically snapped at him, feeling a little frustrated. He crooked the side of his mouth in curiosity. She put the bottle of water on top of the counter and leaned over the counter to look up at him.

"Rethinking your decision?" He poked her hand with the salt shaker, making her breath a laugh.

"At first, I didn't want to deal with the publicity our relationship would cause… and what people would think…" She pressed her lips together, trying to find the words. Of course, Pepper Potts would be afraid of the events that supervened from the news of their relationship. She didn't want to think about all of the paperwork she had to do, or the tabloids she had to shoo away. The more she thought about it, the more heavier her head felt.

"…But?" He caught on to her words, looking down at her curiously.

"But, it seems simpler, now." She finally said.

"Simpler, how?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't know." She shrugged, feeling a bit lost. "It just seems like it would be easier to deal with."

Tony watched her play with the water bottle that was next to her. Her thoughts were streaming through her head. She was unable to tell him anything else, but she really didn't know what to say to him. She was still scared about the events that would follow up their confession – shit, she was scared to death. While Iron Man could potentially have more enemies, Pepper Potts would potentially have more paper work, speculation, rumors, and stress. _Could I seriously have more stress than I already do?_, she thought to herself. She slid the water bottle between her two hands in thought, but a hand abruptly planted itself on its cap. Her hands stopped, unable to make of his actions. He tore the bottle from her grasp and replaced it with his hands. He squeezed her small hands lightly.

"It's your problem now." He sweetly smiled at her. "I know you wreck your brain over this… and me… so I'll let you decide."

"Let me decide?" She curiously looked up at him, squeezing his hands back.

"If you feel like you're ready to 'out' our relationship, then by all means, do it."

"So, the decision rides on me?"

"Yup." He grinned, letting go of her hands. "So, you yanked me out of my workshop for some 'fresh air'. Where's the air?"

Feeling the pressure of the subject change, she grinned back at him. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving." He rubbed his stomach lightly.

"Chinese take-out sound good?" She reached for the phone that was standing on the counter.

"Ooh, don't forget to order some fortune cookies." He grinned lightly.

While Pepper made the orders over the phone, Tony thought it was a good time to wander around her condo. He walked into the bathroom, and noticed how tidy and neat it was. _So, she's a neat freak?_ He asked himself. He wandered further into the deepest part of her place: the master bedroom. He poked his head past the threshold of the door and saw a simple queen sized bed and two night stands.

"Tony, did you want rice?" She shouted from the kitchen.

At that same time, something on top of her nightstand caught his eye almost instantly: a small frame that encased a picture. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, almost forgetting to answer her.

"Uh, yeah. Two orders of rice for me." He shouted back while slipping into her bedroom. He walked towards the nightstand, his curiosity peaking. The frame surrounded a picture of Pepper and him. The same picture he showed her a couple weeks ago. He picked it up and lightly brushed his hand over the plastic shield.

"Tony?" She shouted from the hall, wondering where he went. She saw his figure inside her bedroom and instantly walked towards him. "Please tell me you're not raiding my panty drawer." She joked with a lopsided smile.

"I didn't know you actually got this framed." He pointed to the object in his hand.

Pepper looked over his shoulder in curiosity and instantly grinned. "You said we should frame it."

"I was making small talk to divert you away from that miserable event I was escaping from." He breathed a laugh, feeling happiness overwhelm him. _Of course she would take every word that came out of my mouth into account._

"They're delivering the food. It should take no more than ten minutes." She rubbed his back smoothly and filed out of her room.

Tony put the picture down and reluctantly followed behind her, wondering what other wonders were in her apartment.

"Did you want to do anything to pass the time?" Pepper walked into the kitchen to fish her Blackberry out of her purse.

"Why Miss Potts," He seductively breathed, making Pepper instantly grin in annoyance. "I believe the springs of your mattress—"

"I let you take off your sling, so you shouldn't do any _strenuous_ activity until we see SHEILD's physical therapist." She curiously raised an eyebrow at him, making him back off.

He pouted. "You always ruin my fun." Even if he told her that his arm was fine, she would've denied any sexual requests he had. It had always been like that. Tony would tell her something, but just to make sure, she would consult a third party. Pepper certainly trusted Tony, but there was no hurt in validating his say.

Tony looked up at the ceiling and noticed the bland lights that reflected a glare against her hard wood floor. He looked around him and noticed the flaws of her apartment. He was merely comparing his house to her apartment.

"You know, I should install JARVIS in here."

She immediately whipped her head around to face him. She instantly pointed at him. "No, no, no! You are not tampering with my apartment."

"What?" He began to sulk. "Why not?"

"Because this is _my_ place of peace and serenity. I don't need JARVIS spying on me for your personal gain." She purposefully glanced down at his crotch.

"Are you serious?" He huffed. "You think I would actually do that to you?"

"Yes." She argued back. "Even if you said you wouldn't, you'd still get the urge to do so. It's also a tiny bit weird having your AI watch me twenty-four-seven."

"After ten years of working for me, one would think you'd get used to him." Tony crooked the side of his mouth in annoyance.

"I'm used to him at _your_ house." She spat back. "I don't need JARVIS to turn off my lights or tell me the weather."

"Fine. Fine." Tony looked away; almost ashamed she rejected his greatest creation. "I see how it is. I'll just have to take my business elsewhere."

"I'm pretty sure Rhodey would push you out the front door." She rolled her eyes at him.

"I think he would consider it, and then push me out the door." He grinned at her, still thinking about JARVIS'ing her house. He looked around and noticed the lack of fish. "What do you say to fish and cat suits?"

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows. "What?" She practically shouted. "How in the world would you be able to put a suit on fish, let alone a cat?"

"Through procedures and careful hands." He wiggled his fingers, slightly. "Does that mean yes, you approve?"

"No." She immediately snapped back. "It means no, I will never approve of that idea."

"Aw, c'mon, Pepper…" He pouted at her, trying to pull off his Tony Stark charm.

"I just want one night." She started, giving him a glare. "One night where we don't talk about technology, business, or-or-or, suits..." She trailed on, trying to think of other conversations that ruined their evening.

"Pep, I'm Tony Stark. You'd have to muzzle me to get me to stop talking about technology." His ego probably went up a notch at this point.

Pepper rested her hands on her hip. "Well, that could be arranged."

"Fine." He put his hands up in defense, seeing how dark her blue eyes got. "I won't talk about it _and_ you can't talk about anything business related."

"Surely what you're proposing isn't much of a challenge." She slyly grinned at him, making sure it hit his weak spots.

"Yeah, well—" he was about to make his comeback but something fuzzy and furious jumped up onto the counter in front of him. The grey and white cat looked back at him with wide eyes, almost as if the cat was watching his every movement.

"Oh, hi, Jasper." Pepper massaged the cat's head, and scratched him behind his left ear. The cat closed it eyes in relaxation and began to purr under her hand.

Tony thought it was an opportune time to pet the cat as well, so he reached for the upper part of his leg and began to scratch it gently. The cat still purred under Pepper's messaging. After she lifted her hand off of Jasper, Tony was mildly still petting him.

The cat angrily looked at him and began to growl. Thinking that it was just his way of saying hello, he continued to scratch the cat's side, but the cat retaliated by hissing at him.

Tony jumped back and away from the counter. "I think your cat hates me."

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows slightly and scratched the cat's head again. "Aw, Jasper, don't be like that."

"I've seen these kinds of things, Pepper." He huffed, looking down at the 'evil' cat. "That cat will tear us apart!"

"Oh, stop exaggerating." She tried not to laugh. "Jasper usually gets along with everybody." She looked down at her purring cat. "It's weird he doesn't like you."

"Maybe your blind neighbor trained him to eat me alive." Tony furrowed his eyebrows. "I mean, the man clearly did not admire me."

"Mr. Kesler would never do that, Tony." She rolled his eyes at him. It was upsetting to see her cat respond differently to Tony, especially since they're in a relationship. But it certainly wasn't the end of the world. "Or maybe…" She stopped scratching the cat in thought. Jasper immediately turned its head to follow Tony's movements.

"Huh?" He responded, cautiously looking down at the feline.

"I did tell him… stuff… about you." She winced a little, fearful of what Tony might say, or do.

"Stuff?" He dryly looked over at her. "What kind of stuff?"

"Tony, I've had Jasper for almost six years. You can't blame me to take out all of my stress and frustration out when my cat is around." She tried to shrug the blame off.

He almost immediately pointed his index finger at her. "So,_ you_ trained your cat to hate me!"

"Oh hush. It was four years of bottled up stress. And I doubt the rants to my cat have anything to do with him not liking you." She pressed her lips together in thought.

"I'm pretty sure I'm a dog lover anyways." He wanted to stick his tongue out to the cat but deemed it as inappropriate, especially in front of Pepper.

"Maybe he just needs to get used to your presence." She shrugged, looking down at the adorable cat that began to rub itself against Pepper's stomach, consistently purring. "How about we watch some television while we wait for the food?"

"Okay…" He grumbled under his breath. "But there is no way I'm sitting next to that cat."

Pepper rolled her eyes and began to dig through her fridge in search of drinks for the both of them. She skimmed the layers of the interior of her fridge and only saw bottles of water. She took a step back from the fridge and furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't even remember the last time she enjoyed some wine.

"Did you want anything specific to drink? All I have is water." She waved one of the bottles in the air.

"Water is fine." He responded, still staring down at Jasper.

Pepper closed the fridge door close using her heel and gingerly walked out of the kitchen. She rounded the corner and walked towards the living room with both of her bottles in her hand. When she placed them on the coffee table, she noticed that Tony was slowly, and distantly, trailing behind her.

"Is everything okay?" She raised an eyebrow at him. She noticed his gaze was lowered. She lowered her gaze and found the cat sitting in front of her.

"That… thing…" he glared at him, unable to process what the cat was trying to do.

"C'mon, Jasper." She picked up the cat with both of her hands and walked towards a nearby scratching post. Pepper placed the cat on top of the post, assuming it would calm down. The cat turned in circles before it laid itself down.

"See?" She smiled down at her cat and proceeded to scratch its head. "He's friendly."

"Yeah, before you trained him to assassinate me." Tony grumbled under his breath. He took his seat in front of the coffee table, keeping his gaze centered at the feline. "Rhodey's dog would eat you alive."

The cat hissed at him. A split second later, the doorbell rang, giving Pepper a chance to escape from their standoff. She opened the door and gladly took the bags from the man. She dug out a twenty dollar bill from her pants pocket and handed it to him. The man nodded at her in appreciation and hastily walked away. She closed the door with her elbow and walked towards the living room with the bags of food that radiated with deliciousness. She dropped the bags onto the counter and untied them.

"I think the rice is in that bag." She pointed to the bag in front of Tony. He untied the bag and unboxed the contents.

"Yeah, there are three cartons of them." He handed one to her, while she handed him a carton of chicken chow mein. He handed her a pair of chop sticks and a napkin and eventually forgot about the cat that was still watching him.

"I wonder what's on T.V." She hummed, reaching for the remote.

"I think the Dodgers baseball game is on." He dumped some of the chow mein into his carton of rice.

"Something that won't end up in _you_ spilling food everywhere." She raised an eyebrow at him.

"That was one time, Pep. _One Time._" He cracked his chop sticks and dug them into the carton that rested on the table. "It's not my fault Rhodey likes to trash talk."

When she flipped through the channels, she caught sight of more than twenty news channels. Each of them were talking about, if not in the middle, of Stark Industries. Tony glanced over at her, whilst shoving noodles and rice into his mouth, and noticed how stiff she got.

"If you really want to watch the news—" He proposed, trying to calm her down.

"—No, no. It's fine." She quickly replied, remembering their agreement (what started out as an argument she started). She flipped to a cartoon channel where Buggs Bunny was showing Daffy Duck how to hunt for rabbits. Pepper thought it was a nice change of pace.

"You know, I remember when my father caught me watching cartoons." He chewed his food, leaning against the couch.

"_Caught_ you?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded. "He turned it off and insisted that I work instead of watching crap that would rot my brain. I was ten years old."

She leaned back as well, giving her self minor room between her and Tony. She wondered what it would've been like to see Tony grow up without a normal childhood. The easy Saturday mornings, watching cartoons and playing outside with the neighbors are all she can remember of hers. For Tony, it was probably spending some quality time with his father, rebuilding or observing a piece of equipment. She didn't know what to ask him. Sure, it sounded easy to ask Tony Stark a question, but she hated poking him with personal questions. She didn't want to lead him down the wrong memory lane.

"My father used to say something about cartoons." Tony said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Hm?" She hummed, shoveling some rice into her mouth.

He started to recite his father's words. "Cartoons were created on a blank canvas with immortality and endless possibilities, yet humanity's wish in creating the perfect world is so vague and doomed. And like animation, even the slightest error would cause set backs."

"Do you think he's right?" It was first question that came to her head.

"He's certainly not wrong." Tony chewed, unable to grasp the idea of a perfect world. "Why do you think we work so hard to achieve a balanced world?"

She looked down at her carton before gazing up at the television screen. She saw Elmer Fudd chasing after Buggs Bunny with a shot gun whilst passing by signs that all said 'Rabbit Season'.

"It's a goal." She simply responded. "We strive to achieve our goals. It's something that keeps us occupied… makes us human."

"You know, you never really talk about your parents." He popped the question. He always mentioned his parents, but he had rarely heard her talk about her own. He thought it was her way of saying that she didn't think about them the same way he thought about his parents; admiration, and motivation. A few seconds had passed and he noticed how quiet she was. "Touchy subject?" He gently asked her in a voice that sent butterflies through her stomach.

"It's not that I don't want to talk about them…" She pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say.

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to." He wasn't sure if he was setting foot into dangerous territory, but she wasn't exactly rushing to change the subject, either.

"Let's just say that they're in a better place now." She vaguely informed him.

"I'm…" He wanted to apologize, but seeing her directed glazed gaze at the television told him to otherwise. "JARVIS discovered something today." He acted like their conversation didn't happen.

"Oh?" She unfortunately did the same.

"Yup. He says that your cat likes to sleep outside—"

She whacked him the ribs. "My god, Tony, is he really that intimidating to you?" She couldn't help but smile at him.

"He'll probably let his cat friends in after we fall asleep. They'll have little ninja cat nunchucks and little ninja cat stars…" Tony went on and on about the cat.

Pepper almost thought he was jealous of the feline, but that's impossible. Tony Stark can be a narcissist, a genius, and maybe a little crazy, but he is far from a man jealous of a pet.

A half hour and a few cartons of Chinese food later, Tony and Pepper found themselves relaxing on the couch, in front of the television, with two fortune cookies. Pepper was leaning against his side while his hand was draped over her waist. She reached into the bag that was on the coffee table and tossed him a fortune cookie.

As they both munched on their dessert, they peaked at their fortune, wondering what they had to say about their life.

"Wealth will be least important in your future." Tony read. He lowered the piece of paper and blinked. "Well, it's not wrong."

Pepper smirked at him as she skimmed her own fortune. She read it twice in her head and flashed a surprised grin.

"What does it say?" He squeezed her waist.

"It says I need to make my boss go to his meetings, and actually get him pay attention." She said, glaring up at him.

"Funny." He said flatly. "I get it. You don't want to tell me."

"They say you have to eat the entire cookie in order for your fortune to come true."

"Well, I think my fortune already came true."

Pepper slid the fortune into her pants pocket and proceeded to give Tony the slip. She stifled a yawn and narrowed her eyes at the television. Her actions were meant to tease him, but when he didn't follow through, she proceeded to forget about it. The fortune told her that her luck was just beginning. It wasn't the most coincidental, or vague, fortune she got, but it was somewhat pleasing to get it while she was with Tony.

"Want to turn in for the night?" She questionably looked up at him.

"Uh, yeah." He nodded. His gaze shifted slightly when he looked down at her and noticed the cat that was licking its paws. "_He_ isn't joining us, is he?"

"Jasper usually sleeps in my room." She responded, motioning to get up.

"Can tonight be the night he _doesn't_ sleep in your room?" He suggested. He tossed the cartons into the plastic bags while glaring down at the cat. Pepper walked around the table and stifled another yawn.

"You act as if you're threatened by him." She grinned, playfully.

Tony ignored her and proceeded to stare at Jasper. He knotted the plastic bags and pressed his lips together. "Rhodey always said I'd find enemies in weird places." He mumbled towards the cat.

The cat jumped off its scratching post and trailed behind Pepper, treating Tony's words as nothing but a silent threat and otherwise unimportant. After Tony disposed of their dinner, he joined Pepper in her bedroom and found her already in her pajamas. While he was occupied in the kitchen, she had managed to quickly slip on a blue t-shirt and black shorts. Her hair was down, resting comfortably on her shoulders. She scratched the back of her head, unaware of how beautiful she looked in Tony's eyes.

He noticed the lack of clothes he brought to change in. "Do you have a pair of sweats I can borrow?"

"Yeah." She sweetly grinned at him and strolled over to her dresser. She opened one of the drawers and tossed him a pair of grey sweats. "They're yours, actually."

It sounded somewhat romantic to hear Pepper say that she kept one of his clothes. A warm feeling spread through him when he unraveled the pants. He looked over it once and nodded to himself. Yup, those were definitely his. "How come you have one of my sweats?"

"I accidentally packed them when I left your house to come here." She simply said, walking past him.

"Just thinking about your body in my clothes is a turn on, Potts." He slyly grinned, laying the sweats on top of the bed. He proceeded to unbuckle his belt and slide his pants down. Pepper, on the other hand, was in the bathroom, removing her make-up.

"Tony, can you do me a favor and feed my fish really quick?" She shouted from the bathroom.

He looked up from his bent over position and furrowed his eyebrows. He stood near her bed, in his plaid boxers, unable to recall any sighting of fish. "Fish?" He pondered for a second. He quickly slipped on the pair of sweats and discarded his jacket, pants, belt, and socks on the nightstand.

"They're on the bookshelf." She shouted again.

Tony turned his head and saw the bookshelf she was talking about. He took a closer look and saw the small tank. It held two guppies and one ghost shrimp. One of the guppies was coincidentally a light red color, and the other one a sort of yellow-orange color. He saw a small envelope of food sitting next to the tank. He opened the envelope and dug two fingers inside. He pinched a small portion of food and scattered it above the fish. He closed the envelope and saw the two guppies swirl around each other, fighting for the food. The ghost shrimp, on the other hand, took what he got and nibbled on it with his miniscule claws.

Pepper walked into the room with her hair tied up. Tony saw her form in the corner of his eye and began to turn his head. He was sad to see that her hair was up again. He abandoned the tank and casually pursued her. Pepper was putting away her discarded clothes. Her back was turned to Tony, allowing him to endearingly wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against his body.

"You know I don't like it when your hair is tied up." He grinned, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

Pepper smiled to herself and slid the hair tie off, revealing her luscious light orange hair. "Happy?" She felt his hold on her tighten.

"Yup." He endearingly grinned. "You know I don't like it when you have clothes on." It never hurt to try – or so he thought.

"Nice try." She smirked, feeling his hold on her waist loosen. He walked around the bed and lay down on the right side, hoping she would join him soon.

When Pepper finally joined him on top of the bed, she had her Blackberry in her hand, pressing keys left and right. He heavily sighed and thought about tossing her phone across the room – of course, that wouldn't set well with her.

"I thought I said no business related stuff." He raised his eyebrow at her.

She laid her head against the headboard and dryly grinned at him. "You said I couldn't _talk_ about anything business related. And I'm not."

"Pepper…" He whined, hoping it would pull her away from her phone. After a few more seconds of waiting, he decided to move towards more drastic measures. He began to scoot closer to her. His arm draped across her waist and pulled her closer to him.

She still didn't let go of her Blackberry.

Tony began to squeeze her waist affectionately. "Can't you do that in the morning?" He pouted, looking up at her.

"I _do_, do this in the morning, Tony." Pepper glanced at him, giving him a deep glare. "One more, okay?"

"Fine." He mumbled, retracting his arm from her waist. It was only a moment later when he felt her arm rest itself on his chest, and her face nuzzled against his side. He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. He occasionally savored the moments he had with her, mostly because they rarely got the chance to spend some time together, peacefully.

"Mm, this is nice." She hummed against his chest.

"Yeah." He grinned, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "You know, If JARVIS were here, we could easily turn off the lights. We wouldn't have to move an inch."

"Once again, you are _not_ allowed to install JARVIS into my apartment." She growled.

"He can protect you—" he tried to protest.

"I'm sure he can." She waved his reason off.

"Jasper, on the other hand—"

"Tony…" She grumbled, nudging his side.

"Fine, fine." He pressed his lips together. Tony turned his head to press a feather kiss on the top of her head. When she squeezed him back, they both heard a low meow. Tony whispered to himself, _Please... I swear to god, if that cat—_

Jasper leaped onto they bed and began to walk in between them, making Pepper pull herself away from Tony's side. He cursed under his breath as her warmth left his grasp.

"Hi, Jasper." Pepper greeted the cat with a smile. The cat planted itself right in between the couple, and meowed a second time, this time towards Pepper.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the cat as Pepper scratched its head lightly.

"Is he seriously doing this?" He angrily grumbled.

"He's just a cat, Tony." She lightly scolded him.

"A cat that clearly doesn't want me near you."

Pepper glances over at Tony and notices his increase in irritation with the cat. Tony sighed, loud enough for Pepper to hear, and began to roll over on his back. Pepper looked down at the cat and realized the commonalities between them: they both cared deeply for her. _It's only one night_, she told herself.

She patted the cat's back and got up. "C'mon, Jasper."

Tony glanced over at the pair and observed Pepper's efforts in leading the cat out of her bedroom. Once the cat was past the threshold, she closed the door ever so lightly and jumped back into bed.

"Satisfied?" She asked him, cuddling up to his side.

He grinned slightly and draped his arm around her shoulder so that it rested under her head. He turned to rest his check on top of her head, and closed his eyes. They laid there for a minute, basking in each other's presence.

"Finally," He grinned at her, and pressed another kiss to the side of her head. "I get you all to myself."

Tony Stark had thus forgotten about his mishap with his father's rival and his daughter. From that day on, it was easy to forget about his past embarrassments, mostly because he had someone to talk to about them. Pepper was his rock; his sole purpose for existing. He couldn't think of a better way to pass the time than spend it with Pepper. He loved her presence, mostly because it calmed him down, one way or another.

If anything, he knew that night was a special leap forward in their relationship, and he was thankful it happened. He also learned four things: Pepper loves water, she has Iron Man colored fish, she has a blind neighbor that hates him, and she has a cat named Jasper that also hates him.


	29. Chapter 29

"Sir," One of the henchmen rushed to Khris' side. He lowered his head so that he was unable to see Khris' face. "It's complete."

"How much of it?" Khris asked him with his arms across his chest. He glanced over at the henchman as if his attention was already occupied.

"All of it."

Khris, feeling somewhat surprised, looked back at the henchman. "Did you install Leon's weapon on it?"

"Yes." He nodded in certainty. "Just as you requested."

"Excellent." Khris looked back at the television that was in front of him. "Is it prepped and ready to go?"

He nodded again. "Would you like to test it out first—to make sure it works?"

Khris grinned at his words. "I have full confidence in your work, and I trust that it will work beautifully. Besides, the only way to _make sure_ it works is through Iron Man."

"Of course, Sir." The henchman nodded once more. "We'll begin the preparations."

"Call me when we're clear." Khris waved him off with a flick of his had. The henchman strode back to his post and told the other men of Khris' orders. Their warehouse was cleaner, and more spacious. The scraps that was scattered everywhere were built into parts, and those parts built something even bigger. His eyes were glued to the television screen that reported the day's top news.

"Rumor has it that Iron Man took a few weeks off for vocation. There's no word from Stark Industries where he went, or what he was doing. His personal assistant, Miss Virginia 'Pepper' Potts has decided not to say anything in his behalf. There is still no word from the superhero regarding the recent missile placing in Nevada. We'll be sure to update you regularly when, and if, we hear anything. Back to you, Tom." The news reporter announced, holding the pitch black microphone in her hand.

"Yes, well I guess every superhero needs a day off." Tom, the news anchor, humbly chuckled.

"I'd sure like a day off." Julie, another news anchor, joked behind a small laugh.

Khris rubbed his fingers together in curiosity and power. He felt like he could take on the world with his new weapon at his disposal. "Vocation is over, Tony Stark."

* * *

"Mr. Stark, I need your approval to continue with the S.H contract." The sound of Pepper's heels clicking against the concrete floor of the workshop boomed against the walls with each step.

Tony turned around from the suit, his hands half inside the interior of the chest casing. He grinned at the sight of her body in her famous pencil skirts, dress skirts, and high heeled shoes. But, when his last name escaped her lips, he knew she was in her professional mode.

"Sure thing." He responded, digging his hands back into the suit. "Let me just—" Suddenly, a pop sounded, which seemed good news to Tony because Pepper winced at the ear popping noise. "—There we go." He swiveled around in his chair to face her, wiping his hands along the sides of his jeans.

Pepper handed him the loose papers that were neatly piled on top of a manila folder. She looked down at him and saw his eyes quickly skim the papers.

"I looked over the documents." She quickly stated, taping her foot against the floor. He casually glanced up at her, grinned, and then looked back down at the papers.

Despite her absence in his bed last night, he felt somewhat happy this morning. When she walked through his front door in a pony tail carrying two cups of coffee from Starbucks, he wanted to immediately hug her, and tell her how much he missed her. Apparently she had stuff to do – he was guessing it was something important since she tried her best to tell him (gently) that she couldn't stay for the night.

"Anxious to get out of here, Miss Potts?" He quickly signed the front page and handed the pile of papers back to her.

She grabbed the files and rested them against her chest. Of course she didn't want to leave so early. She actually wanted to talk to him about last night. When she told him she couldn't stay over (for the third time in a row), he looked heartbroken. He looked like he just got smacked in the rear for being a bad puppy. But he casually played it off by nodding and kissing her goodnight.

"Um—no, I—" She bit her bottom lip and paused. "I'm sorry."

He looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed. He knew what she was talking about, but he decided to play it cool since he didn't want to act like a clingy teenager.

"About last night." Pepper finished with a small frown.

"It's fine, Pep." He lied and waved it off.

"You…" She muttered. "You just seemed a little disappointed last night."

He solemnly looked down at the ground beneath his feet and frowned a bit. After a split second, he couldn't keep it from her. "Of course I want you to stay with me every night, but you have your own life and I can't force you to stay… because that would be wrong of me and-and-and horrible of me… as a boyfriend."

Pepper grinned at the sight of seeing Tony Stark babble. Sometimes, he could act like a complete and utter asshole, but Pepper occasionally saw the soft and adorable side of him. It always made her smile.

"How about we patch this up with ice cream?" She suggested.

"Right now?" He furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the monitor near the suit that clearly read 10:42 AM.

She widened her smile and slightly shook her head. "I meant later tonight."

"Oh." He paused, looking in the distance. "Um, yeah." He nodded. "That sounds fun, except we'd have to_ publically_ purchase the ice cream—"

"—Or we can have Happy pick it up." She recommended with a tilt of her head.

"…Or _that_." He nodded to himself.

Pepper bent over and tilted her head sideways. When she leaned in for a kiss, Tony widened his eyes in slight shock. She gave him a soft kiss on the lips that lasted a split second. He honestly thought that he had died and gone to heaven when her lips grazed against his. It was like millions of balloons had burst in his mind. When she pulled back, she glanced down at his face and saw his lips still parted. She breathed a laugh at that moment, unsure of his facial expression.

"Um… Could we rewind that?" He breathed. "Cause' my brain is a little crazy right now, what with the suit and… your legs…" He swallowed.

This time, she giggled, and gathered up the papers that were messily in her arms. It was cute how easily she could mess with his brain. Sure, a lot of women could do that to him – busty, slim, sexy, fit-to-be-a-model, and gorgeous women – but this was different. Their relationship was different. _He _was different.

"I'm serious." He grinned back at her. "Can we just—"

"I'll see you later, Tony." Her lips made a small smile while her legs slowly escaped his workshop.

He sat there for a few seconds, unable to register what just happened. A part of him wanted to run after her, sweep her off her feet, and kiss her until they died, but that thought immediately escaped his brain when JARVIS interrupted his thoughts.

"Sir, if we are to finish the repairs on time, we will have to skip 'snack time'." JARVIS' voice boomed throughout the workshop.

"Huh?" Tony blinked and turned around to face the suspended upper half of the suit.

"You suggested that we finish the repairs before five o'clock tonight. If my calculations are correct, 'snack time' will have to be averted." The AI repeated.

"Oh." He looked at the suit while his brain began to register where he was and what he was doing before Pepper strolled in. "Well, we could always make Dummy feed me some munchies."

"Of course, Sir."

"Start projecting the interior of the left side of the casing. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to fit the H621 classified as 622KI through some careful wiring and drilling." He started out.

"Indeed. The 622KI will fit perfectly. The drill size that should serve a suitable proportion to the weapon would be the half inch bit." The AI responded.

"Already on it." Tony responded. He grabbed the drill off the table and began to look around for the preferred size bit. He ran his hands through the tools that were scattered in the metal cart under the monitor.

"Mr. Hogan has picked up Miss Potts and will drop her off at Stark Industries in approximately three minutes and fifty six seconds. Miss Potts also wanted me to inform you that you have an appointment with SHEILD's physical therapist in two days."

"Two days, huh?" He mindlessly asked his AI. "I don't know why she insists on making an appointment with that guy. My arm feels fine."

"Standard procedure." JARVIS immediately responded. "Miss Potts increasingly worries about your wellbeing every day."

"I know." Tony glanced up at the ceiling as if he were telling JARVIS to stop making him feel so guilty. He hates it when Pepper worries about him. It puts her through more stress – double the amount she shouldn't even be dealing with in the first place.

* * *

"Sir." The same henchman bowed before Khris. Khris' brown hair was matted down giving him a soft look. He wore a standard black cotton t-shirt and a pair of old denim jeans. His shoes were workers shoes; the worn out brown kind that lots of construction workers wore. Khris turned around with his lips pressed together, expecting something informative to come out of the henchman's mouth. "The parts are prepped and ready to be assembled."

"Great." Khris devilishly grinned. "I want the parts assembled and ready to be worn."

"Of course, Sir." The henchman nodded and hastily walked towards the back of the warehouse.

Khris grinned at the sight of his most ultimate creation. His face lit up in excitement and pure pleasure. He muttered with a small smile on his face, "Today is the day Tony Stark dies."

* * *

"Sir, the repairs are going swimmingly. ETA is at six minutes." JARVIS suddenly announced.

It was close to five o'clock and Tony was lying down on the couch with his hands behind his head. He didn't even need to open his eyes; just hearing JARVIS' voice tell him incredibly good news made him smile in appreciation.

"Thanks, JARVIS. Tell me when you're done. I'd like to test out the new weapon." He began to hum to himself.

"Of course, Sir." The AI responded.

It was only two minutes later when Pepper came fast walking down the stairs and into his workshop. Hearing her heels click against the concrete floor made Tony's ears perk up. He instantly got up from the couch and looked over at her, wondering why she was in such a rush.

He grinned in excitement but that quickly disappeared when he saw the horrible expression on her face. It was like the stock market completely died, or something. He couldn't think of the appropriate words to describe it. It wasn't so much as an expression caused by disappointment. It was more like an expression caused by horror or devastation.

"Pepper." He breathed, feeling worry take over his body. "What's wrong?"

"Have you seen the news?" She quickly asked him, rushing past him and towards the couch. She immediately reached for the remote that was resting on the coffee table. She turned on the television that was placed above the workshop's kitchen cabinets and quickly switched to the world wide news channel.

"What's on the news?" Tony asked her, wondering if he did anything wrong in the past few days. He really didn't do anything but work on the suit for the past week, so there was nothing for the news to report on.

Pepper slowly sat down on the couch while Tony took the seat next to her. They both concentrated on the television in front of them.

"Breaking news: the Wyoming police department is trying to sustain the threats against the civilians. At this time, the fire department and the police department are ordering all neighboring cities to stay calm. Cheyenne, Wyoming, is under attack. The government doesn't know if this is an attack against the United States or something much smaller. All surrounding cities of Wyoming are being asked to quietly evacuate their homes while the military takes care of it." The female news anchor reported with a steady voice.

Tony widened his eyes in shock as a FOX news feed showcased a devastating scene. Men in ragged clothes (dirt splotched t-shirts and stained jeans) walked the streets carrying AK-47's and semi-automatic pistols. They were gathering people along the corners of the street. There were at least fifty of those men roaming the town. At least twenty more were guarding the dozens of people.

"Oh my god." Pepper breathed.

Tony clenched his jaw in anger and frustration. "JARVIS."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Get the suit ready." He grumbled loud enough for the AI to hear him.

"Tony, the military—" Pepper tried to tell him but he immediately shot her down.

"The military shouldn't risk their soldiers for something that Iron Man can easily handle." He abruptly got up from the couch and operated the small control panel that was in front of the assembly platform.

"And what about Director Fury—" She began to worry.

"Fury would've contacted me well before they broadcasted the attack on the news. I don't know what his plan is, but I'm not letting those men hurt those innocent people." Tony grounded out. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel and quickly took off his shirt and pants.

Pepper watched as he quickly slipped into one of his neoprene suits. The zipper was on his back. His arms bent every which way to zip it up but no avail. She didn't approve of his quick getaways nor did she like him flying around with bullets trying to puncture the suit, but she supported every heroic act he's been through. She walked towards him, scooping up his clothes along the way, and gently slid the zipper up along his spine. He turned around and saw a small frown on her face that instantly turned into a half smile.

"Be careful." She whispered, trying not to show how worried she was.

Tony placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked down at her with soft brown eyes and reassured his return with a Tony Stark charm smile.

He walked past her and walked onto the assembly platform where JARVIS prepped him for suit up. She watched the platform separate and unfold in front of Tony's feet. He stepped into the boots and grabbed onto the gauntlets of the suit. JARVIS activated the dozen of robot arms and efficiently added the rest of the suit onto Tony's body. The suit quickly took its shape, showcasing the lightweight look of the hot rod red and gold design that protected the genius engineer. As the robot arms let go of Tony's gauntlets, half of the skeleton of the helmet was snapped into place. The face of Iron Man was raised above his head, waiting to be put on so the world can once again put their faith in a hero.

Tony walked off the platform and quietly stood in front of his girlfriend, his personal assistant, his reason for waking up every morning. He noticed his clothes balled up in her arms that crossed her chest. With a slight smirk, he looked down at her.

"I knew you couldn't keep your hands off my clothes." He joked, trying to rid her of the stress and worry that was overwhelming her.

She smirked back; she made herself remember why she agreed to stand by his side all these years. He knew, in his heart it was the right thing to do, and looking back at all the years he spent wasting his life away through drinking, and screwing every girl he could score, _she _knew in her heart, that she wanted to stand beside him, more than ever, especially when he finally found his motivation. She truly loved what he has become, and what he has accomplished. She was so very proud of him.

"Try not to get yourself killed." She grinned, gripping his clothes that were in her arms.

He displayed a small smile before he bent over slightly and leaned in. His lips gently brushed hers, almost afraid that the edges of his hovering mask would bump into her head. Her lips were so soft against his. It felt like her lips were made out of cotton candy. Her lipstick attracted his lips that much more. When they slowly broke apart, he could feel her lipstick gradually peel itself from his lips, leaving a faint sticky and glossy residue on the surface of his lips.

He pulled away and looked down at her, wondering why they didn't start a romantic relationship sooner.

Her eyes fluttered open in yearning for more, but she couldn't keep him from the innocent people that needed his help – Iron Man's help. She gently pushed his chest plate with the tips of her fingers.

"They need you Iron Man." She muttered.

A small and endearing smile grazed across his lips just before the mask that protected his face, one that grew into his identity, and held his trusty artificial intelligence, slammed shut.

She gazed into the blue eyes of her hero, and immediately drew a smile.

"I'll be back." He said in a booming voice, trying to reassure her. The thrusters of his palms and underneath his boots shot out, allowing him to hover for a split second. He looked down at her figure once more – even though she couldn't see his face, his lips still grew a smile – and zoomed up into the sky, towards Wyoming.

Pepper stood there looking up at lingering smoke trail he left behind, and wondered why she couldn't keep her lips from forming a frown.

* * *

The streets were littered with scared civilians. Most of the men that were roaming the streets had bandanas that covered their noses and mouths. The buildings were empty, if not guarded. Street lights were still in operation, but all of the cars on the streets were not. When the terrorists struck the city, every man, woman, and child were forced to get out of the buildings and cars. They were corralled like animals.

"Please, please don't kill us." One of the women that was in the gathered crowd pleaded the men that were armed.

"Shut up." One of the armed men strictly shouted.

Iron Man arrived on the scene within twenty minutes. JARVIS previewed Tony a blown up view of the situation. Tony looked at the hologram against the interior of his helmet and pressed his lips together. Most of the hostages were already in one area, which could go either way. Upon his arrival, they could quickly kill everyone, or the hostages could just be a distraction for something bigger.

"I need options, JARVIS." Tony angrily grumbled.

"There's an open window—"

"JARVIS, they could either kill the hostages in two seconds, or they could be using them as a distraction. I need more options!" Tony shouted.

"Options considered, Sir. Repulsion ray the two guards, and use the multi-targeting missiles at the surrounding guards." JARVIS suggested.

Tony nodded in response. "Sounds viable. Thanks, JARVIS."

"Of course, Sir." JARVIS agreeably responded. "Arriving in Cheyenne. ETA fifty-three seconds."

"Highlight all armed men."

In an instant, all of the armed men were highlighted in a yellow glow in the suit's interface program. Next to their highlighted indicator, small thermal readings were glowing. Tony's heart started pounding in his chest. He could feel the arc reactor start to warm up. He was getting nervous. He could feel it growing and growing. It always happened when he went on missions that involved hostile situations. He worried about what _could_ happen, and what he needed to avoid. He never talked to Pepper about it because he hated it when _anyone_ saw him painfully vulnerable. His soft side was a different story. He loved Pepper. He absolutely adored her, but he could easily fortify his defenses and keep a low profile.

ETA was two seconds.

"JARVIS, target the bordering armed men." Tony ordered his AI, and within seconds, the targets were highlighted in a red glowing color.

When Iron Man made his signature landing, he quickly aimed his palms at the men that were guarding the hostages. When he fired his rays, he instantly took them out, and saw them flying into the wall that was positioned passed the hostages. A split second later, the small missile system on Iron Man's shoulders popped up and quickly took out the pre-targeted men.

"It's Iron Man." One of the people in the crowd whispered.

Tony looked over at the crowd of people and immediately pointed to the border. "Stick together and run towards the boarder. Military and EMTs should be there to assist you."

Without saying a word, and apparently containing their excitement, the crowd of people quickly scattered and ran towards the border. Tony slowly followed them by backing up. When an absence of highlighted targets didn't display on his interface, he began to point his palms in every direction.

"This doesn't look good JARVIS." Tony felt the pit of his stomach churn. "We only took out fifteen of the armed men. There seemed a lot more on the news."

"Analyzing the rest of the city for more armed guards." JARVIS announced. "There are twenty-one more southeast of your position, and fourteen more northwest of your position."

"Highlight them." Tony ordered.

"Done, Sir." The AI responded.

Tony aimed his palms straight down and shot straight up into the sky. He veered to the left as multiple bullets aimed for him from both directions. He felt the bullets shock all areas of the suit, sending tiny pulse waves throughout his body, making every nerve twitch. He aimed his palms at the highlighted areas while the thrusters in his boots allowed him to hover.

* * *

Pepper was upstairs in the living room, sitting on the couch, watching the television that was projected against the window. She pressed her lips together as some of the camera crews were forced out of the city and into a safer area. Their cameras were still running, but they could only make out a few blocks into the city. Some of their camera's caught faint sounds of gunfire and blue lights, and eventually caught the sight of Iron Man hovering in the sky.

A second later, Natalie (Natasha?)—Agent Romanoff ran in through the front door, making Pepper jump in surprise. She had her Black Widow outfit on that was complete with her boots and tight gloves. Pepper had almost thought one of the armed men crashed through the door, yearning for her presence as leverage against Iron Man.

"Natasha, what are you doing here?" Pepper gasped.

After a first glance, Agent Romanoff took out a flat device and pressed it against her ear. "Pepper is at the house and the perimeter is secured." She said.

"What—What is this about?"

The SHIELD agent took the device away from her face and snapped it into the pocket of her belt. "We have a situation."

"Tony left half an hour ago to Wyoming. The news—"

"No, I'm not talking about _that_." Natasha looked over at Pepper before looking up at the news. "Director Fury knows that Tony left with the suit. He tried to call Stark when the news cameras caught sight of him to tell him to stay close to the border. He wasn't supposed to go into the city until further orders were given."

"How—Why are you exactly here—and what do you mean by '_tried_ to call' him?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows up at the agent.

Natasha looked away, almost instantly, as if she were afraid to tell her any negative news about the situation that Tony dove into head first. After a second, she looked up at Pepper, into her eyes, and pressed her lips together.

"According to Director Fury, there's some electrical interference that's keeping us from contacting his suit." The agent announced.

"But JARVIS is with him. If there's electrical interference, then JARVIS can simply transfer whatever you need to tell him from here, right?" Pepper quizzically looked at her.

"I'm afraid that's impossible at this point, Ms. Potts." JARVIS suddenly announced.

Both Pepper and Natasha looked up at the ceiling in death defying fear. Pepper could feel her heart pound in her chest when she replayed those words back in her mind. If JARVIS wasn't with Tony…

"What do you mean?" Pepper gasped, feeling an adrenaline rush.

"I have just lost contact with Mr. Stark. It seems like an electrical interference has stopped me from transmitting my services into the suit. There was a faint electrical signal coming from the area when we arrived but I failed to record it as high priority." The AI told them.

"What does this mean?" Pepper immediately looked over at Natasha. She could only look back at Tony's personal assistant.

"I'll call Director Fury. Maybe he has an answer to all of this." The agent quickly replied and stepped off to the side to make the call.

"JARVIS, do you think this electrical interference is a threat?" Pepper asked, wondering if she could find some relief.

After a pause, "I cannot state such conclusions at this moment, Miss Potts."

That didn't make the situation any better. Pepper bit her bottom lip and began to cover her mouth as she turned her attention to the projected television screen. She refused to hear Black Widow's conversation over the phone. She just wanted to know if Tony was alright. The thought of hearing about Iron Man being shocked to death made her want to burst into tears.

Pepper knew being Iron Man wasn't easy. She knew he risked his life everyday to protect innocent people from getting hurt, especially from his own weapons. It killed her to see him fly off for hours, or days, on end, waiting for him to get home, or waiting for him to call her to tell her that he was on his way back. She loved him so much. Just hearing his voice soothed her.

* * *

After Tony hit the last highlighted enemy with his repulsion ray, he sighed in content. He looked around for more and saw none. The town was quiet with multiple unconscious enemies littered along the streets.

"JARVIS, can you pinpoint anymore?" Tony asked, hovering lower into the city and landing direction on the sidewalk. When his AI didn't answer him, his concern increasingly grew, almost at the point of fear. "JARVIS?"

"Tony Stark." A voice came yards away from him.

Tony looked in the direction of the voice and saw a brown haired man wearing nothing but a black t-shirt and a pair of old jeans. He had a medium build and was a head shorter than Iron Man's suit. Encased around his body were tons of wires and metal parts that looked similar to Tony's Mark I. Through the interface, the man was flowing with glowing blue streams. It looked like he was encased in the energy that powered the arc reactor.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the man and breathed, "Who are you?"

"Khris Jorg." He simply said, walking towards Tony. Every step he took made the parts around his body clink against the concrete streets.

Immediately, Tony saw one key piece of equipment that couldn't be adverted. He stared directly at the chest piece that rested comfortably against Khris' chest. Out of it streamed tons of wires that were wrapped together in some kind of tape and ties.

Khris looked down at his chest piece and grinned. "You like it? It's similar to the one Vanko had, but I've modified it a bit."

"So, you're, what—Vanko's evil son out to get me?" Tony shifted his weight while a bunch of tactical options streamed through his mind.

"Vanko had no children." Khris grinned. "If you're asking our relation to each other, I'd say our goals. We both wanted you dead."

"Of course, who doesn't want me dead?" Tony placed his right leg back and revved up the repulsion energy in his right palm. "It's pretty ballsy of you to try and use my technology against me, and on top of all that, failing to use hostages to your advantage."

"I was never going to use them as hostages, Stark." Khris stopped a meters away from Tony. "They were simply an excuse to get you here."

"What?" Tony furrowed his eyebrows, confused by his motives.

"If anyone else arrived and took out my guards, I would've skipped this part of the plan." He breathed a short laugh. "In simple terms, I _wanted_ this to happen. I want to fight you at your best—I want to kill you knowing that you couldn't stop me with all of your strength."

At that instant, Tony raised up his palm at him, letting the glowing blue light grow in anticipation. Khris stood there with a wide grin and raised his arms up. Tony's nostrils flared as the growing threat in front of him taunted his actions.

"Go ahead. _Try_ and kill me."

"It was a mistake to conjure up all that technology with no defense." Tony grumbled. When all he got in response was a low smirk, he blasted a repulsion ray from his palm and again from his other palm.

He should've expected it. He should've known someone that duplicated his arc reactor technology wouldn't be easy to take down, because Vanko sure wasn't a walk in the park. Right before his eyes, his blue repulsion rays were soaked up, just a few feet away from Khris' body. Tony's eyes widen in horror as his attacks oddly disappeared.

"You like it?" Khris raised an eyebrow at the genius.

"Wha—" Tony's mouth gapped in fear and confusion.

"You actually think I'd take you on without any defense?" He evilly grinned. Khris' emotions ran wild when he saw the look on his rival's face; the look of hopelessness and fear. It practically drove him over the edge. The blood thirsty feeling soon overtook his body. "That stupid box that Greg Leon made that could store energy and power massive buildings, the one Hardman modified? I've given it a few modifications of my own."

"You—You turned it into a electrical field that can absorb my repulsion rays." Tony mindlessly backed away from him; it was the fear that prevented him from stopping. It was the fear that prevented him from defending himself.

"That's not all." He paused for dramatic effect, almost as if it were a game to him. "I can also use your repulsion rays _against_ you." Khris' palm shot up and within seconds, a powerful repulsion ray blasted out of the contraption that rested against his palm. Tony didn't react in time, making the ray slam his body across the street into a nearby building.

Tony felt the back of the suit absorb most of the damage, but the contact also made pulses go through his spine. This was a huge set back. _I can't use my basic attacks against this guy if he can just fire them right back at me… I'll have to resort to something else,_ Tony panicked.

"Let's see if you can absorb a missile." Tony raised his arm up, triggering a panel to open at the top of his wrist. A missile popped up and instantly shot at the target in front of it. The recoil made pulses go through his wrist.

He watched as the missile went past the electrical field and increasingly slowed down. It sent shivers through his spine knowing that his second to last resort _also_ didn't work. Tony's eyes widened in horror as Khris picked up the missile, which was floating in front of him, with his finger tips. He quickly observed it before dropping it on the ground.

"Pathetic." Khris' lips parted. "I thought you were better than this."

Tony began to panic. None of his attacks worked, and his new weapon used a massive amount of energy. If his repulsion rays could be used against him, then that meant that any type of energy thrown at him could increase his attack. This was bad. Really bad.

He had no other choice. All other options that flowed through his mind were quickly denied. He had to use his new weapon as a last resort. With JARVIS missing in action in his suit, he couldn't do much. Sure, he could activate all of his weapons and flares, but he couldn't ask for viable options that only JARVIS could quickly come up with.

_Hand to hand combat_, Tony suddenly thought. _But how am I going to be able to get close enough?_

Tony's new weapon was a cannon of sorts. It stemmed from the back of his suit, much similar to the design on War Machine's rail gun. He called it the 'Photon Cannon'. It used twenty five percent of the arc reactor's power in order to deliver a wide, quick, and powerful repulsion ray blow.

When the cannon rose up from his back, he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was hoping his plan would work. _C'mon… if you can't defeat him, who can?_ He opened his eyes and in an instant a powerful ray from the cannon was shot, sending increasing pulse waves through his spine. Tony winced in pain from the recoil and knew bruises would soon form.

He chose to ignore it; he leaped forward and used his boots' thrusters to advance his speed. Before he could even touch Khris, the energy from his Photon Cannon was already absorbed and used against him. The powerful blast from Khris' palm sent Tony flying back at an unprecedented speed. Tony felt his back come in contact with layers and layers of brick wall. The energy from his arc reactor was slowly decreasing. It was starting to get to a critical point.

Tony shook off the attack and slowly peeled himself from the indent he made in the wall, but before he could actually get out, he felt a strong grip against the neck of the suit. Khris slammed him back into the wall with such a powerful force, one that produced spider cracks in the wall.

"You actually think close combat is my weakness?" Khris devilishly grinned. "You're certainly not much of a challenge—oh, but you were trying to recover from Hardman's stupidity."

Tony gripped his arm and began to struggle. He drew sharp breaths, trying to regain his composure. The force of his arm from the energy that he got from his cannon began to damage the suit. Electrical waves pulsed through Iron Man's suit, making the interior interface flash and frazzle.

In a last ditch resort, Tony thrust a crescent punch towards Khris' head, but Khris quickly released his grip and avoided his attack. Unfortunately for Tony, when Khris avoided the attack, he also countered with a hook to the side of the head.

Tony felt the crushing blow against his face plate and flinched to the side. When he couldn't react in time, he felt a powerful kick against his stomach. Tony grunted in pain. He felt his energy being used against him. He felt his knees hit the surface underneath him, and even had to use his arm to prop him up, while his other grasped the abdomen of his suit.

Just then, a second powerful kick to the stomach sent tremors through his suit. In a low gasp, he was knocked over and landed on his side; his eyes were closed in pain. The pain increased when he felt a ton of pressure press against his recently injured arm.

Khris bent over him with a low smirk while his foot came in contact with Iron Man's right arm. He rested his elbow on his knee, thus increasing the pressure even more.

"Ahh!" Tony screamed, breathing heavily. He couldn't move. The electrical field that surrounded Khris began to drain his arc reactor's energy. _It's… sapping the energy._ He couldn't even think of a way to escape. He was terrified.

"And here I thought you would defeat me. I'm kind of bummed." Khris began to frown. "Actually, I'm _really _surprised you defeated Vanko."

Tony tried to yank his arm out underneath Khris' metal boot, but it had no avail. Khris was bent over him, casually thinking about his next actions. He tilted his head to the side and looked down at the scrap beneath him.

"You know, I came here for a challenge. I came here because I thought you would actually do some damage." He silently nodded and blinked. "I'm giving you a few days—actually, you get a week. You get _one_ week to do your repairs and whatnot. One week from today, same time, same place. If you don't come, I'll kill your personal assistant, okay?" He seemed a little to cheery for a threatening villain. He peered down at the CEO of Stark Industries and instantly, and lowly, smirked.

Tony angrily growled. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"I doubt you even have the energy to hit me." Khris challenged him with a smirk. He increased the pressure on Tony's arm once more before walking off him. He looked back at the damage he did, making his ego sky rocket. "One week, Stark. I suggest you work fast." The thrusters from his boots and palms launched him into the air at a faster speed than Tony's.

Tony laid there, unsure how to deal with what just happened. He was beaten. He could've died. Khris could've killed him. _I couldn't do anything…_ He fought back the queasy feeling that stemmed from his stomach. _What kind of superhero am I if I can't defeat something I created?_ He looked up at the sky that casted over him. He grunted in pain and rolled over on his stomach. He moved his knees underneath him and used his good left arm to prop him up. When he finally stood up, he held his right arm against his body.

"Tony—Tony!" It was Pepper's voice. Her worried tone boomed throughout the suit.

"Pepper…" He lowly breathed, feeling uneasy from the recent barrage of attacks against him. _He can't… he won't... he won't take her away from me._

"Tony! Director Fury said he tried to contact you. Some electrical interference was blocking all communications." She told him in one breath. She saw the cuts on his face that oozed dried up blood. "…Are you okay?"

He didn't even have the strength to answer her question. "I'm on my way back." He breathed.

Hearing him say those words was supposed to sooth her – it was supposed to suppress the built up worry, but the low defeated tone in his voice shocked her. She tried to talk to him, she tried to ask him what happened, but he wouldn't tell her; at least not over the communications system. He wanted to see her in person. He wanted to hold her and never let go. He wanted to kiss her until her knees buckled. He wanted to make sure that she was unharmed. His efforts as Iron Man rushed through him, as did the feeling of deep disappointment. Everything could've ended that day. He could've died along with the rest of the city. He got another chance only because the man that tried to kill him was looking for a challenge.

Tony couldn't even conjure up any ideas that could match Khris' ultimate defense and offense. The ones that went through his head were quickly scrapped because of the useless feeling in the back of his head. He didn't have much time, but he couldn't give up; not when Pepper's life as _also_ at stake.

**A/N: This story is actually going to be closed in two more chapters (no more than five). Included in that statement is an epilogue, and I will not be writing a sequel. I like imagination ;). **

**I'm sorry for anyone who lives in Wyoming, Cheyenne. I don't know how big the city is (and I don't know if there are actually layers and layers of brick wall lying around). I actually asked my friends on Facebook what state I should attack since New York is too obvious. They voted on Wyoming, and that's when I wiki'd the cities. I think Cheyenne was the first on the list. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. **

**I'm also going to the Western Nationals Junior Olympics for my cousin in a few days, so I have no idea how much time (if any time) I'll get to work on it.**

**Please review! They keep me going! **


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: I have no excuses. Words cannot express how sorry i am. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man but i do own the wish that pertains to wanting to own Iron Man. :)

* * *

Pepper bit the edge of her thumb nail. Her eyes rested upon a beaten up Tony Stark that was quietly being disassembled by yellow and grey mechanical arms that extended from the ceiling. As the dented and black spotted case of the suit disappeared into the ceiling, the man in front of her almost stumbled forward. Pepper reached forward, expecting to catch him in her arms, but he stood up, almost slowly, and waved her support off.

"Are you okay? What happened out there?" She immediately asked him. Tony slowly looked her in the eye. Pepper could see his eyes turn a deep dark shade of brown. When he didn't answer her, she assumed that he just didn't want to talk about it, but his gaze wasn't turned at her. He was gazing at the person behind her.

Pepper turned around and saw Agent Romanoff standing a few feet away from her. Her arms were crossed against her chest, and her gaze was almost piercing. Her tight black outfit made her gaze even more death threatening.

"What happened?" Natalie asked him in an angry and low voice.

Tony glanced over at his Personal Assistant, almost hesitantly. "Can you—"

"I'm not leaving, Tony." Pepper crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him with a stone cold stare. "I want to know what happened, too."

He knows he failed miserably. It wasn't about saving Cheyenne, the city of Wyoming, at that point. It wasn't about how heroic he looked on camera or how many lives he had saved. What kept on trucking through his mind and gnawing at his heart was how he had failed miserably to defeat the one person he basically created.

He didn't see it as a mission or just another villain. He saw Khris Jorg as his responsibility. It was his responsibility to stop him from destroying the world. It was his responsibility to keep the Arc Reactor technology from spreading. Vanko was his responsibility, and so was Khris. He just hoped to god that Khris didn't pass his technology on to someone else, too.

"I…" He looked away, unable to make eye contact with either of them. He felt ashamed. "…I couldn't defeat him."

"Him?" Pepper furrowed her eyebrows.

"Who?" Natalie asked him, carefully reading his facial expressions.

"This guy named Khris Jorg." He pressed his lips together in frustration. "He… He could've—He could've killed me."

"But he didn't." Natalie stared at him, expecting to hear more than just the ending result.

"He's not out for revenge." Tony looked up at Pepper and realized her worried expression. She could probably already make out the bruises that were already starting to bloom.

"He wants to prove how powerful he is." Natalie nodded to herself.

"He's giving me a week." He looked away and then again at Pepper. "If I don't appear in Cheyenne by that time…" He paused. "…He'll kill Pepper."

Pepper wasn't surprised. She knew what she signed up for when he became Iron Man, and she definitely knew the consequences of being his personal assistant. She wasn't scared to get death threats – well she was – but she wasn't going to get as far away as possible just because some guy wants to use their relationship as leverage.

"We can keep her at the Avengers headquarters." Natalie suggested in confidence. "She'll be safe there."

"No." Pepper shook her head. "I'm staying here."

He looked at her in sorrow. He didn't want her to get hurt, and her safety was very important to him. There was no reason to stay behind in the range of danger with him. "Pepper…" he breathed.

"I have a say in what I want to do, _and I_ want to stay here."

"If you stay here, you're at risk." Natalie furrowed her eyebrows at her. "You'll only be a burden."

Pepper cringed at that word; burden. She knew she was a liability. She didn't deny it one bit. She clenched her fists and pressed her lips together in frustration. "I've stood by Tony's side since the beginning. I'm not about ready to abandon him just because some guy says he'll kill me."

Tony's eyes widened as his gaze turned to his personal assistant. He read her form and noticed her posture. She was poised; she held her ground like The Great Wall of China. He was sure he'd have a damsel-in-distress girlfriend since the beginning of his Iron Man chapter, but to see his girlfriend stand her ground against a SHEILD agent, much less Natalie, was beyond him. He absolutely adored that side of her.

"Pepper, you don't—"

She turned to him, almost calmly. "I'm not the type to instantly cower under a rock when the going gets tough."

Natalie turned to Tony with a disappointed facial expression. Pepper stood next to Tony with her arms crossed against her chest in fortification. He rose is eyebrows at the presence of his personal assistant and immediately turned to look at Natalie.

"I can't seem to ever win an argument against her." He quickly and sweetly smiled.

"Director Fury won't be pleased about your decision." Natalie informed them.

"When is he ever pleased about anything?" Tony mumbled, looking away.

"Fine." The SHIELD agent pressed her lips together. "I'll see what I can dig up on Khris Jorg. Director Fury will want to know about what happened. We probably should contact everyone, including Hulk, and see if we could—"

"No." Tony quickly snapped. "They shouldn't be involved in this."

"What?" Natalie furrowed her eyebrows in complete shock. "We're a team. If one problem arises, everyone collapses in the center. This isn't a one man glory hole. You don't get to act like god just because you have powers that other people don't have."

"I'm not saying I'm god." Tony said loudly, almost in anger. His eyes turned a darker shade of brown, the kind of shade that terrified Pepper when she found him in his workshop, frustrated and upset, right after a tough mission. "I'm saying that _this_ is my responsibility. I caused this, so I should be the one to fix it."

Natalie clenched her fists, and leaned forward, trying to take the initiative; trying to control her territory. "This isn't some Disney fairytale where the hero always wins and the villain always loses, Tony. This is life or death; millions of lives are at stake here."

"Which is exactly why it's my responsibility to take control of my actions and my technology." He argued. "I'm responsible, so I'm going to fix it."

"Director Fury—"

"Fury can piss on my grave for all I care." Tony shook his head. "There's no way I'm letting something I _basically _created hurt innocent people. If I die, you can call all the back up you want. I just want to fight for what created Iron Man in the first place."

Natalie looked at him as if she were about to tear his face apart. Tony looked up at her, forgetting the fact that the only thing that kept him decent was the sweaty and sticky neoprene suit. Natalie licked her lips and angrily glanced away.

She looked back down at him with a small frown. "Director Fury will most likely call you in the next twenty-four hours. I suggest you pick up or else _get_ dropped on." She threatened before heading towards the front door. Her shoes clicked against the tile flooring with loud pulses and before the sound of a slamming door boomed throughout the house, thus leaving Tony and Pepper alone to repair the damages.

"She certainly likes to make an exit." Tony dryly joked, turning his head to look at his personal assistant.

Pepper, however, was looking in the other direction; searching for the right questions to ask him or the right words to say. He noticed how silent she had gotten. Of all the years that she has worked for him, he'd always see Pepper take immediate action. When she was out witted in the boardroom, she would counter back with something more whimsical and with slightly more force. When his missions got in the way of some serious business matters, Pepper would rectify the problem immediately with a few phone calls and some swift e-mails.

And yet here she stood in front of him, unable to form the necessary words, phrases, or questions.

"You didn't have to stay here with me, Pepper." He spoke up, tilting his head to the side to get a better look of her face. "You should have gone to the headquarters. You're better protected there."

"Are you okay?" She simply asked, ignoring is recent words. She looked up at him with a similar frown that of Natalie's.

He stares at her, still trying to read her facial expression. He began to ponder on his answer. Of course he wasn't okay, mentally and physically, but he didn't want to tell her that. He had this fortified wall that kept his tough exterior from breaking, or getting damaged. But it always seemed to crumble under the surveillance of his personal assistant.

"I'll live." He answers her flatly.

Pepper scooped up a pile of clothes that were sitting on his desk and gently handed it to him. He looked down at it in remorse before looking back up at her. "Here are some clothes for you. I figured you'd want to change when you got back."

"Thanks." His lips graced a small smile.

She smiled back at him for a split second before she turned around to walk back upstairs. Tony stood there, unable to process what he should tell her, or what he shouldn't tell her. Should he keep her locked up in his house until things blew over, or should he let her go back and forth to work when a lethal weapon is threatening him with her life?

"Pepper." He muttered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear. She turned around, making the heels of her shoes click twice against the concrete flooring. She looked at him with a flat and somewhat dull expression, as if she wasn't sure what to ask him.

"Hm?" She hummed.

"I know things are getting crazy around here." He started out as he began to shuffle the clothes that were in his hands. "I just want to make sure that you're positive you want to stay here, because—"

She cut him short. "—Of course I'm positive." She paused, trying to keep him calm through their locked gaze. "You're all I have, remember?"

A wide and pleasant smile grew on his lips. "Yeah, I remember." He nodded slightly. Before she turned around again, "Do you think you could stay here until everything blows over?"

"Yeah, sure." She said softly.

"_And_ work from here." He added, making sure he covered her safety.

"You don't have a lot of food here, Tony. That might be an issue." She reminded him with a small smile.

"We can get Happy to pick some up." He chimed in.

"I'll get him on that then." She opened the glass door. "Let me know if you need me."

Once her legs disappeared from his sight, the small smile he once held quickly crumbled into a guilty frown. He looked around his workshop and then at his battered Iron Man suit. He glanced back at the stairs and muttered to himself, "I need you now more than ever, Pep."

* * *

Khris walked towards the repair platform that was encased in their warehouse base. "How long will it take for you guys to fix it?" He asked one of the men.

The man turned around with the schematics in his hand. "We're trying to repair it as quick as possible, but Leon's device will take some time to replace. Three days at the most. There was a crack on one of the sides when we examined it."

"Mm." Khris hummed, looking over at the exoskeleton of the suit that was being worked on by five other men. No doubt, they were puzzled about the damage.

"What happened to it?" The man spoke up after a few seconds.

"Stark did more damage than I thought." Khris grumbled. "I didn't think his weapon of last resort would cause Leon's device to crack."

"Weapon of last resort?" The man standing next to him raised his eyebrow in confusion.

Khris tried to replay their fight in his head. He brought his hand up to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was frustrated; he was unable to grasp how close the device was to being destroyed. "He called it the Photon Cannon. If my calculations were correct, that weapon probably used at least fifty percent of his Arc Reactor. If he used any more power, it would've most definitely caused the device to short circuit."

"We should enhance the capacity then." The man suggested. "Fixing the crack will only be temporary. It isn't a permanent solution."

"I know." Khris angrily spat. "We can't enhance the capacity when it's already been increased to its full potential. Leon's blueprints and calculations are too scattered." He rubbed his forehead.

"We can try and combine two of them – maybe even more." The man rambled.

"Leon's device doesn't work that way. It's supposed to be a single element. A lone device that's powerful enough to store tons of energy." Khris pressed his lips together, taking a glance at the suit that was a few meters away from him.

"We… could…" The man sighed a bit. "We could try and enhance the walls of the device. We could give it more fortification."

Khris glanced at him for a second and nodded in approval. "That seems like the only solution. Fortify it. You have less than five days."

"Yes, sir." The man nodded, and immediately ran back to the repair platform to inform the others of their new task.

* * *

Tony rubbed the back of his neck and began to feel pain spread across his lower back. "Ahh, JARVIS, how long until the repairs are done?"

"Six hours, three minutes, and fifty-two seconds, sir." The AI responded quickly.

Tony took a moment to stand up from his desk chair in hopes of stretching out his back. He knew the Photon Cannon would put pressure on his spine, but he didn't think it would cause this much pain.

Feeling most of the pain overwhelm him in a short burst, he hunched over on his desk, laying both of his palms on the desk in front of him, and grunted in pain. "God, that hurt." He muttered to himself.

"As we suspected, the Arc Reactor's power was reduced to forty-seven percent after the Photon Cannon was activated." JARVIS announced.

"The side effects definitely weren't very keen on my back." Tony sarcastically commented before wincing in pain.

"A full night of rest should allow the Arc Reactor to regenerate energy on its own." The AI suggested.

"No." Tony quickly spat. "We're not resting until we find a suitable solution to beat this guy, JARVIS."

"There's plenty of ti—"

"Shut up and finish the repairs on the suit. And while you're at it, begin a medical scan. I need to know how much damage the Photon Cannon did if I'm going to use it again." Tony looked at the monitors in front of him, carefully observing the repairs and damage reports.

"Running medical scan." JARVIS paused. "I suggest the Photon Cannon be taken out of the scenario immediately, Sir. It could cause more damage to your spine, thus leading to the possibility of permanent immobilization."

"Sounds a lot better than world domination."

"Medical scan complete." JARVIS announced. "The Photon Cannon, along with several contacts with fortified concrete walls, has left your lower back in an inflammatory state."

"Meaning…?" Tony slightly raised his eyebrow whilst trying to steadily lower himself into his chair.

"Your lower back muscles are strained and are in need of proper care. I suggest placing cool substances along your lower back to release the tension. After a while, the inflammation should be reduced."

Tony leaned against the back end of his chair with a short grunt. He looked over at the monitors, reminding him that there was plenty of time to give his back a rest _and_ brainstorm some weaponry ideas.

"Can you call Pepper down here? Tell her to bring the frozen peas." He looked around his desk for a pencil. He already had a few ideas in mind, but they wouldn't last long if Pepper was going to be around.

"Surely peas alone aren't a suitable meal, Sir." The AI responded to his command.

Feeling a bit frustrated, and rather annoyed, Tony snapped back at him. "Just tell Pepper to bring bags of ice."

"As you wish." The AI responded.

Tony slowly got up from his chair, being careful enough to ease his back into the right positions. He walked around the workshop and found a single regular pencil sitting on a tray next to his hot rod. He grabbed the pad of paper off his desk and gingerly walked over to the sofa.

He laid down, back side up, and began to scribble his ideas down. His brain was working diligently. It must've been the sheer thought of losing to something he was responsible for in the first place that got his brain working, or it might've been the thought of losing Pepper. Both factors floated around his head like flies. After five minutes, he went through ten pages of notes, using both the front and back sides. Before he knew it, the sound of clicking heels snapped him out of his trance, making him pop his head up to look where the sound originated from.

Pepper opened the glass door with one hand while her other hand was busy fumbling with the bags of ice he requested. Looking a bit worried and confused, she walked across the concrete flooring of his workshop, searching for him.

"Tony…?" She called him.

"Polo!" He responded.

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked in the direction of the kitchen. His head popped up from the couch, and attached was a small smile.

"…You wanted bags of ice?" She slowly walked towards him.

"Yeah, my back is having issues." He told her while her legs rounded the corner of the couch. He licked his lips while the image of her long sexy legs stopped in front of his face. He slowly looked up at her in curiosity. "This position definitely has its perks." He joked.

Pepper rolled her eyes at him and kneeled in front of the couch. "What's wrong with your back?"

"The new weapon did a number on it. No worries, though. I'm sure it'll be in tip-top shape after this week." He told her, eyeing her carefully.

Pepper noticed the pad of paper and pencil in his hand, and flashed a small smile. It was amazing to see so many calculations and ideas on a piece of paper that was slightly bigger than a folded napkin. His ideas were scattered, yet he could easily remember which calculations paired with what design. Only he could tell what he was writing. He had a unique personality that was quipped with his own mysterious ways of working.

"Are you sure you want to treat it _this_ way? I'm sure there better ways—" She started suggesting but was abruptly cut off.

"You mean you'll give me a massage? Excellent." He nodded in approval, glancing up at her. "I _am_ having some discomfort in the upper thigh region."

Pepper smiled incoherently, pressed her lips together, and immediately smacked his shoulder. She should have known he would try to pull that line on her. There were times when he was actually sweet to her, and then there were times when he just wanted to slap her with all the innuendo he had. His personality was, at times, bittersweet.

"I meant physical therapy."

"Don't need it." He instantly responded, glancing back down at his pad of calculations.

"You _still_ have that appointment with SHEILD's physical therapist. We could put it to good use. The doctor can check your shoulder and then—" Pepper got cut off, again.

"I'd rather have a chiropractor look at it than some physical therapist." Tony rolled his eyes at her. He honestly didn't think that he needed a physical therapist. His shoulder didn't feel that bad since he's been focusing on his back.

Pepper sighed at him and eventually pressed her lips together. She could see where he was coming from. He only mentioned a chiropractor because they both knew that a SHIELD issued chiropractor was increasingly busy at the SHIELD headquarters in New York. There was no possible way that he would be able to make it to California in a short notice.

"Fine." She simply responded. "Take your shirt off." She tugged the hem of his shirt, gently brushing the skin of his hip with her hand.

"Whoa, Potts." He turned his head, darting his deep brown eyes in her direction. "I didn't know forceful stripping and inappropriate touching was your thing." He grinned.

"Do you want me to ice your back or not?" She raised her eyebrows at him, already feeling fully annoyed by his antics.

"Okay, okay." He gave up, and gingerly sat up. He threw his pad of paper and the pencil near the armrest of the couch. He moved arms slightly above his heard and stayed there. With a small wince, he looked at her. "Can… Can you uh… help me a bit, Pep?"

Pepper heavily sighed and plopped the bags of ice onto the spot next to her on the floor. She grabbed the hem of his shirt with both of her hands and slowly lifted up. Undoubtedly, Tony was probably smiling like a Cheshire cat at that exact moment. Instead of hearing a plethora of his sexual implications, Pepper's ears were filled with small gasps of pain.

"Ow—ow, ow, ow." He muttered.

When his shirt finally passed his arms, Tony gasped in relief and quickly lowered them. He winced in pain and carefully stared at his personal assistant while she bundled up his shirt, and tossed it aside.

"Lay down." She ordered him.

Tony slowly dipped to his right and flipped himself over. His stomach hit the soft cushions with a thud. He folded his arms and tucked them in front of him. He laid his head softly on his arms while he gazed at his personal assistant. He carefully followed her eyes and noticed her stare borrowing into his back. Tony knew she was staring at the soft purple color along his spine.

He shivered under her gentle touch that spanned across his back. "Pepper…" He silently breathed, wishing she would stop staring at his wounds as if they were her fault.

Pepper snapped out of her own world and forced herself to ignore his skin's change of color as well as the various scars, including the faint one that ran across his upper back from a recent patch up. She gently laid the bags of ice on top of the purple spots. Once all of them were scattered along his back, she motioned to get up, but Tony's hand whipped out to catch her wrist.

Pepper silently looked down at his hand. Her eyes trailed up his arm and stopped at his soft brown eyes. Her lips mindlessly curled up to form a small smile. "Will that be all?"

He didn't understand why she was acting this way. She normally scolded him for being so reckless in his Iron Man suit. After a minute of scolding, they would continue to argue until they were too tired to argue any longer. Her eyes were so soft and luscious. They looked like they could easily separate a crowded room. He adored them so much; it was almost painful to look away.

"Stay." He told her, his voice almost made it a question. "Please."

"I have a ton of work to catch up on, Tony, and—"

"Then bring your stuff down here." He shrugged her excuse off.

Pepper tilted her head to the side with a heavy sigh and looked at him for a few seconds, wondering what the advantages of her staying down in the workshop were.

"It helps me concentrate." He simply added. "And, I don't have to call you down here to take the ice off because you'll be sitting here – next to me."

"Dummy could _easily_ do that." Pepper raised her eyebrow at him.

"Please." He muttered, rolling his eyes. "Dummy will most likely make it worse. He has his ways."

"If I stay down here, will you at least rest a bit?" She asked him, practically giving him an ultimatum.

"Pep…" He sighed, loosening his grip on her wrist.

"Tony, I know you're exhausted." She finally told him, hoping to persuade him to sleep. Once she saw his eyes roll again, she tried to give him the guilt trip. "I know you've been working hard down here. I understand you're doing your best to find a way to beat this guy, but you're over extending yourself. If you don't rest you'll—"

"If I rest, I'll be behind." He cut her off. His hand slipped off her wrist; he tucked it back under his head. Pepper couldn't possibly understand Tony's way of thinking. To her, sleep was the only way to calm him down.

"Please, at least rest until JARVIS is done repairing the suit." She tried to persuade him.

"It's almost midnight, Pepper." He turned his head to face the couch's backside. He knew if he continued to look at her while he went against her wishes, he would eventually lose it; guilt would have over come him and he would eventually have to succumb to the idea of forcefully ushering her out of his workshop. "If you're feeling tired, you should go to bed."

Pepper pressed her lips together and solemnly looked down at his tensed form. She shook her head to herself and began to stand. She almost wished she hadn't. She wished she had the courage to force him to go to sleep, but he was always stubborn against the idea; that and the idea of eating. "I'll be upstairs."

Her legs moved towards the glass door. Once Tony couldn't hear the click of her heels, he turned his head towards the door and heavily sighed. Even though he hated how worried she got over his health, he increasingly missed her presence.

After ten minutes, JARVIS had alerted Pepper of Tony's state. "It would seem that Mr. Stark's breathing patterns have calmed down."

Pepper curiously walked down to Tony's workshop to see what his AI was talking about. When she punched in her access code, she carefully approached a calm and sleepy Tony Stark. He was still in the same position from when she left earlier, only his notepad was resting next to the side of his head, one arm was dangling off the side of the couch, and the other arm was tucked under his head as if it were a pillow.

Pepper carefully removed the notepad from underneath his head before he drooled all over his calculations. The bags of ice were now half melted. She took them off of his back and threw them into a nearby garbage can. She took out a soft black blanket from underneath the couch and unfolded it before laying it across his half naked body. She tucked some of the blanket between the couch's backrest and his body, and then tucked the rest underneath the couch cushions. She stood in front of his sleeping form with a small smile spread across her face. He looked so peaceful and gentle when he slept. She took a few seconds to savor this sight. She took Tony's slight stir as a sign that she should give him his space. Before she exited his workshop, she planted a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth, almost thankful that he fell asleep.

* * *

"Good Morning, Sir. The time is currently 11:23 AM. The weather outside is quite warm. If you are planning to go outside, I suggest you wear something comfortable." JARVIS announced.

Tony's eyes fluttered open in confusion. His arms were in front of him, on top of the blanket, while his legs were sprawled about the couch. He slowly sat up and tasted the awful morning breath in his mouth. He looked down in curiosity, almost forgetting why he wasn't wearing a shirt, until he remembered that Pepper had iced his back. But that didn't quite explain the soft blanket draped across his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his notepad on the end table; it was filled with his various calculations from the previous night. He sat there for a few seconds, pondering about what happened last night, before he rubbed his eyes clean with his hands.

"Miss Potts requested that I wake you up. She also asked if you were hungry for lunch." His AI said.

"I'm not hungry." He sternly said. He turned his head towards the center of the workshop and noticed his Iron Man suit. The different parts were throughout the entire workshop. Wires were oozing out of the openings, waiting to be connected, or modified. "Why didn't you wake me up when the repairs were done?"

"Miss Potts denied my request and demanded that you get your rest." JARVIS responded.

Tony found his shirt from yesterday bundled up near the side of the couch. His back felt somewhat better, but it still felt like it was strained. After taking a couple minutes to put his shirt on, he flipped the blanket off of him, got up from the couch, and snatched his notepad from the table.

"No more sleeping on the job, JARVIS. We've got work to do." Tony announced.

"Of course, Sir." JARVIS said quickly.

He rummaged around his workshop and scanned all of the parts of Iron Man, whilst flipping through his notepad. He knew all of his calculations and equations were correct; he had no doubt about them, but what he was really concerned about was the level of damage he would do to Khris, as well as what kind of damage it would do to himself.

"JARVIS, I want you to scan all of my ideas and calculations in this notepad. Every single equation and calculation should be correct."

"If they are correct, Sir, then what is it you wish I do with them?" His AI responded back.

Tony folded his arms across his chest and raised his knuckles to his lips. The various ideas that accumulated on his notepad were brought to life. Holograms of the suit with each idea surrounded him. Tony looked at them one by one, and acknowledged their use and existence, but as his ideas grew with power, his health was deemed vulnerable.

"Calculate the possible injuries of each idea and spew them out to me." He ordered; he began to tap his knuckles against his bottom lip in strenuous thought.

"Miss Potts is approaching."

Tony's ears began to perk up. A split second after JARVIS told him, he heard the glass door pop open, followed by heels clicking towards him. He turned around to see his personal assistant slash girlfriend approach him with a clean set of clothes, a bagged sandwich, and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. She wore a white t-shirt that hugged her body comfortably, along with a pair of denim jeans, and black heels. Her luscious orange hair was tied up into a pony tail, as usual.

"Here." She simply told him. She stopped inches away from him; the items in her hands brushed up against his stomach. "Clean clothes, a sandwich—"

"I told JARVIS I wasn't hungry." He quickly cut her off. He glanced down at the items and then at her.

"—In case _if_ you get hungry." She finished her sentence rather sternly. "And a cup of coffee."

He pressed his lips together and nodded slightly. He slid the items out from her hands using his right hand.

Tony noticed the changing color of her cheeks when his fingers brushed against hers. It was truly an adorable sight, especially when she unknowingly scratched her head and glanced away.

"If you need anything, just say so." She said, almost abruptly.

Before she could turn her back to him, he muttered her name. "Pepper." He breathed. She turned around slightly, allowing her to catch his gaze through her left eye. "Thanks…" He paused, unsure of what to say. "…um, for last night." He nodded nervously. "The ice… and the…"

"Blanket?" She finished his sentence whilst turning around to fully face him.

Tony smiled endearingly. "Yeah."

"You don't need to thank me, Tony." She smiled back. In the past, when the moment arose, she would tuck him in after one of his crazy parties, only because he was too drunk to even walk. It didn't occur to her once that he should thank her, only because she had gotten so used to the task.

"But… I do." He muttered. "I don't thank you enough for your efforts. Without you, I'd probably be starving and wearing unwashed month old clothes."

Pepper smiled at this – only because it was true.

"Even during my sex, booze, and partying phase, I don't remember if I ever thanked you for taking care of the unfortunate aftermaths." He paused for a few seconds and began to glance around. He wasn't very keen with these types of speeches, which is probably why Pepper writes them for him. He nodded slightly to end the silence. "So, yeah… uh, thanks… for everything."

Pepper absolutely grinned from ear to ear at this sight. _And here I thought I wouldn't live the day to witness such a rare moment from him,_ she thought to herself. "I hope this isn't one of those speeches where the person knows something bad is about to happen." Her lips formed an endearingly smile.

Tony didn't know what to say to her. He could've said it wasn't, and that everything was fine, but then he would be lying to her, and he already knew the consequences of doing that. Instead, he pressed his lips together, formed a small smile, and fiddled with the items in his hands.

Feeling the sorrowing pressure that rained down on the both of them, Pepper quietly nodded. "I'll be upstairs."

"Okay." He nodded back, and watched her open the glass door. After he watched her body disappear up the stairs, he turned back to his workshop and let out a strained sigh. He could already tell the next few days were going to be hell.

* * *

It had been five whole days since Tony Stark was crushed by Khris Jorg. The media had gotten selfish when it came to the topic of Tony Stark, only because he hadn't been publically seen in almost a week. When the moment arose, every journalist, writer, news broadcasting company, talk show host, etc, would flood Pepper's e-mail inbox with questions and comments. It took Pepper more than a few hours to delete all of them. After the third day of deleting e-mails, Pepper grew tired of them and eventually turned off her phone until she felt less compelled to throw it across the room.

She occasionally checked up on Tony in his workshop, but only got two sentences out of him each time. Every morning, she would leave him a change of clothes, something to eat, and a cup of coffee on his desk. Every night, she would leave him something to eat, a bottle of water, and a note. The note never contained more than a couple sentences.

Pepper occasionally thought that he didn't read her notes, but he did. After she dropped off a few things on his desk, morning or night, he would quickly check it to see if she left him a note. The note usually said, 'Hope you're doing okay. I brought you…' or 'Please remember to go to the bathroom and drink water'. And they always ended with 'Love, Pepper'. Her little notes always brightened up his day.

On the fifth day, everything took a toll on Tony. He started becoming more frustrated than usual, and the stress wore him down even more. He had two days left to create some kind of weapon, powerful enough to defeat Khris, but they were either too dangerous for his health, or not powerful enough.

Tony sat in front of his desk. His palms were forcefully rubbing his eyes, his elbows were planted on top of his desk, and his will to keep trying was dwindling. He didn't want to give up; for Pepper's sake, he didn't want to give up. But every single time JARVIS shot down one of his ideas due to the lack of power, or the resulting damage to his body, his motivation to keep trying decreased.

He removed his hands from his face, unaware of the bags under his eyes, and stared at the pad of paper in front of him.

It was blank.

Tony glanced over at the severed Iron Man suit that was separated into five parts. He honestly couldn't think of anything that would prove to be effective against Khris' 'ultimate defense'. True, they had the specs of Leon's device, but he had no idea how Khris modified it.

"Shit…" Tony cursed under his breath. He closed his eyes in frustration and unexpectedly slid his arm across his desk in anger. The pad of paper flew across the room, and crashed into the wall, almost hitting the displayed Mark I.

"Are you alright, Sir?" JARVIS curiously asked him.

"No." Tony abruptly said. "I'm not alright." He angrily spat. "I honestly have no idea what I'm doing right now. I can't think of _anything_."

"Maybe you should rest. You are running on exactly six hours and thirty-two minutes of sleep for the past four days." His AI suggested.

"I have two days left…" Tony started out, angrily. "I have no time for sleep."

"Have you tried modifying Leon's device yourself? You could create your own ultimate def—"

"That's impossible, JARVIS. I've already asked Fury for the resources, and he's denied me… twice." Tony ran his hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. "The only thing he's allowing me to have is the antidote, which proves to be pretty much useless right now…"

"Have you consulted Director Fury on your options?"

Tony glanced down at his computer monitors and pressed his lips together. He, almost calmly, replied, "He'd only suspend me, and make Cap and Thor take care of the rest."

"Then, what shall be our next course of action, Sir?" His AI asked him calmly.

"Re-install the Photon Cannon…" Tony quietly mumbled. "…It's the only choice I have."

"Using the Photon Cannon a second time will—"

"I know, JARVIS." Tony gloomily looked down at his monitors. They showcased the Photon Cannon. It visualized its mechanisms and the parts that put it together. At the bottom right hand corner of the right monitor was a skeletal representation of the aftermath the Cannon would have on the user. The skeletal representation's spine was highlighted in red. "Sixty percent chance it'll immobilize me…" He paused, in thought. "…permanently."

"Knowing the repercussions of this device, I suggest you tell Miss Potts. She may want to know this knowledge beforehand." His AI suggested.

Telling Pepper was something he didn't want to do. Of course, the same idea didn't go too well for him in the past. Instead of thinking of ways to lie to Pepper's face, he silently nodded to himself. He was going to tell Pepper everything, not because he felt like he had to, not because his AI reminded him to, but because he felt, deep down inside, that this might very well be the last time he'll be able to be with her. He wasn't giving up. He was merely going to say good-bye before he lost the chance to. It was his way of coping with circumstances that didn't seem high in his favor.

The first Photon Cannon had to be scrapped when Tony got home. It nearly made a dent in the back of the suit when Khris slammed him against the wall and onto the ground. Thankfully, the cannon wasn't a complete waste since some of the parts could be reused for a new one.

"Start the preparations for the second Photon Cannon. I'll review them in the morning and then start on the hardware process." Tony chipped to his AI. He walked over to the sink in the kitchen and began to rid his hands of the grease.

"Of course, Sir. They will be ready for you in the morning. Is there a specific time to wake you?" JARVIS responded back.

Tony had almost never asked JARVIS to wake him up at a specific time. It was always Pepper than had to tell JARVIS to wake him up at a certain time. Hearing JARVIS ask him the impossible question sent Tony's stomach flipping; changes were happening at an uneasy and fast pace.

"What do you think, JARVIS?" He almost smiles.

"It is almost eleven o'clock. Preparations will be done in exactly twenty three minutes and fifty two seconds. The effective amount of time for the building process of the Photon Cannon to prosper should be at approximately five hours and ten minutes." His AI calculated.

"Time is money. In this case, time is life or death." Tony glanced up at the ceiling. He reached for a nearby towel to wipe his hands on.

"Nine o'clock ante meridiem."

He nodded to himself and set the towel down on the counter. He looked back at his suits that were on display and then back down at his desk. Tucked underneath and between the two monitors on his desk sat all of the notes Pepper had left him on his bundle of items. He remembered thumbing through them late last night after ordering Dummy to organize his tool tray. He felt like a teenage boy that just got passed a love letter from an admirer in the back of the classroom. It sent him tiny jolts of motivation. Even reminiscing about that event made his lips curl upwards unconsciously. The uneasy feeling in his stomach brought him back to reality. The thoughts of saying good-bye to Pepper flooded his mind in a matter of seconds. His small smile quickly turned into a drowned frown.

He made his way towards the stairs at a slow pace, and even tapped on the arc reactor to settle his sudden erratic breathing.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he found his personal assistant typing away on her laptop. She sat on top of the couch in front of the projected television. Her fingers were flying across the keyboard. Her eyes were glued to the screen, and every now and then, she'd lift her right hand to her mouth to bite her thumb nail in thought. This made Tony absolutely grin like an idiot, but his face fell once he remembered why he sought her presence.

When Pepper saw something move out of the corner of her eye, her typing paused. She looked up from her laptop in slight confusion. "Tony." She breathed.

When he didn't answer, she assumed he was exhausted, so she didn't rush to question his health. She didn't grow any concern until he placed his right hand behind the screen of her laptop and gently pushed it shut. Her mouth gapped, unable to process a composed and reasonable reaction to what he just did. Her mouth finally closed when her fists balled up. She was about to sternly question him about his recent actions until her eyes locked with his. He was sitting down next to her; facing her body.

She didn't see the same immature and impulsive Tony Stark that she had to pick up after for the last ten years. She noticed how much his eyes had softened, and how they yearned for her gaze. She only saw this from him at certain occasions; trailing its existence was usually a mess of bad news.

"What's wrong?" She quickly asked him, her breath hitching.

"I…" He started out, unsure of what to say. "I don't regret… kissing you that night… on top of the roof."

Pepper grinned, remembering that mind blowing and unexpected kiss. "Why are you telling me this?"

Tony turned his head to avoid looking at her. Telling her he failed and that he wanted to spend one last night with her was the hardest thing he had to do, thus far. She was his will to fight and survive. Without her, he wouldn't have gotten this far. The thought of not being able to see her face, be in her presence, or hear her yell at him made it that much harder.

"A while back, before Hammer and Vanko… I booked a meeting with my lawyer and changed my will. Well, mainly because I was dying and… well… you get the rest." He pressed his lips together in worry that he might babble.

"Tony…" She gasped; she wasn't sure where he was going with this conversation.

His gaze slowly went back to hers. Her heart pounded in her chest; the sudden fright in his words that spiraled into their conversation made her shudder.

"I'm giving everything to you." He simply told her with a small fake smile. "Well… minus some of the cars, for Happy and Rhodey."

"Wh-Why are you—" Her heart pounded even more. It was an unbearable feeling.

He grasped one of her hands in his and laid his other hand over it. He sandwiched it affectionately and quickly smiled. "You mean everything to me, so you deserve everything. The only thing I regret… is that I didn't realize my feelings for you sooner…"

He dipped his head down, unable to contain their gaze. It was the last straw when he looked away again. Pepper felt every nerve move on its own. She didn't think about it; her body seemingly moved on its own. _What isn't he telling me?_ Her hands gently cupped his cheeks and made him face her.

"Tony, what's wrong?" She quietly asked him, almost endearingly. When his eyes drifted away, her head immediately followed.

"I…" He started off again. "I don't have anything."

"What do you mean? You have me." She paused, trying to search his face for hidden emotions. "You have Rhodey, and Happy—and JARVIS—"

"I mean… I don't have any more ideas." He finally raised his head to look at her. "I've ran out of ideas to beat this guy." His hands reached up to encircle her wrists. He slowly slid her hands down, as if apologetically. He held her hands in the middle of their bodies. "If I fail—"

"You're not going to fail, Tony." She tried to reassure him, but his facial expression said otherwise. She almost thought he was about to cry.

"_If_ I do…" he paused to breathe. "…I don't want you to think that I didn't try hard enough."

"Why would I ever think that?" She quickly responded back.

He didn't deserve her words; he hardly thought he deserved her. For ten plus years, he had the privilege of being in her presence. She worked hard to keep his company under order, and yet all he did was goof around with women, and show up late to every event that she planned. He hardly thought being Iron Man and actually winning her heart equaled the amount of gratitude she had given him, and the amount of work she had put in. It didn't make sense. She could get any guy she wanted, yet she settled for him.

"I love you." He muttered. All those thoughts, and all those words flew through his mind like flies flying around light bulb.

"Tony…" She said breathed, unable to detect if he was saying it in the heat of the moment, or if he really meant it.

"No." He squeezed his hands around hers and held them up to his lips. "I _really_ love you." Pepper felt his lips brush against the back of her thumbs. "I don't deserve you. You had to put up with my crap for so long, I-I don't even understand why you fell for me."

At this moment, Pepper didn't know what to say. She didn't quite understand it herself; why would she fall for a guy that had been a dick to her for ten odd years? She knew her reasons, but he didn't give her time to explain.

He released her hands and gave way to her hips. He now sat closer to her, almost leaning in. The smell of grease and metal erupted from his body. It wasn't a pleasant scent, but after ten plus years, she'd gotten used to it; the smell of Tony Stark was undeniably irresistible. She mindlessly rested her hands against his chest, nearest to his shoulders.

When he leaned in, she nearly gasped for air. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. She didn't know what to say; she had never seen him like this. He looked hungry – yearning for her touch, her presence, and her love.

He stopped, centimeters from her face. His eyes glanced down at her lips – noticing its lusciousness – and then trailed up to lock gazes with her one last time. "I love you, Pepper." He endearingly muttered before he softly brushed his lips against hers.

Once they started kissing, it was impossible to stop. Tony's hold on her body tightened in a possessive way. At the same time, Pepper's arms around his neck constricted. Their passion erupted from their bodies in unison. The daily stress was nonexistent that night. The questions and problems Tony had with his suit and his weapon ideas were forgotten. All he wanted – all they wanted was each other that night.

Tony dropped one of his hands from around her waist and snaked it up the side of her thigh. Feeling his rough hands find their way to the waistband of her skirt made her gasp for air. She abruptly stopped kissing him; instead, she buried her nose in between his shoulder and neck. Her senses tingled once her nose got a whiff of that undeniable smell. It was a smell that made her knees buckle and her body go limp. It was something she always looked forward to at the end of a stressful day.

He planted heavy and possessive kisses along her jaw line and then along her neck. After his name escaped her lips, he picked her up and tried to lead her to the bedroom. The first try was unsuccessful as she felt her back bump into a nearby wall, but that didn't stop them. Pepper kept her legs wrapped around his waist as they both proceeded to sloppily kiss each other. Both of their backs bumped into unknown objects as they tried to guide each other to the bedroom. Upon entering the bedroom, Pepper fell back first onto the bed with Tony right on top of her. Her breathing deepened when she opened her eyes. His hands were at either side of her head, just above her shoulders. His eyes were locked with hers, as if searching for her answer.

The only thing Pepper felt like her body could conjure up was a wide grin. Her lips curled, her lipstick stretched, and her hands tugged at his shirt. It was enough of an answer for Tony, because right after he saw her award winning smile, he grinned like an idiot, planted light kisses on her neck, and told her loved her.

The rest of the night was blissfully spent together, tangled in their own bed sheets. It was an unforgettable moment for the both of them. After they were both spent and tired, Pepper turned over with her back to him and backed up until he spooned her. Tony grinned at this sight and placed one last kiss on her bare shoulder. He slipped his hand from her shoulder to her naked waist and gently squeezed it.

"Tony?" She muttered, unsure if she was dreaming.

"Hm?" He hummed lowly while nuzzling his nose against the side of her neck.

She paused; her mind wasn't quite ready to think of words. "That was—"

"Amazing?" He chimed in immediately with a small smirk.

She smirked back, almost nervously. Her arm covered his when his arm moved to wrap around her middle. Her hand mindlessly played with his. She traced his fingers noticing the size, the shape, the texture, and every other detail. Of course, it was the happiest moment in her life – lying in bed with the one person she loved, but one thing played in the back of her head. That one single thought that hovered around her for the past few hours was the fact that there was a force that could easily take him away from her. It was her duty to help him back up whenever he fell, and so she had to remind him of_ his_ duty – his obligation to the world, not just to her.

Pepper slowly closed her eyes while she felt butterfly kisses along her shoulder blade. She displayed a frown and bit her lip, regretting the action she was about to undergo. She turned around in his arms and was greeted with a friendly endearing smile. Her insides immediately warmed up at this sight. _I must be dreaming._ She thought to herself.

"You okay?" He asked her in almost a whisper that nearly broke her out her trance.

"Yeah." She nodded but within a split second, she shook her head. "No."

He widened his eyes in shock. _Did I do something wrong?_ "Wh—What? Did I do—did I upset you—…" He paused for a second as his lips drew a frown. "Was it bad?"

"No—Not that, Tony." She tried to reassure him. "Why are you still here in bed with me?"

"Because you're—" He got cut off, almost immediately.

"I know, I know. Because I'm not a one night stand." She finished his sentence for him. Tony drew back, unsure of the territory he was about to cross. His furrowed eyebrows gave away his confusion. "You should be downstairs, in your workshop, figuring out a way to beat that guy."

"Pepper…" He pressed his lips together and looked away. The truth was that he was truly ashamed. When he told her that he really couldn't think of a way to defeat Khris, he really meant it. The schematics of all of his ideas were instantly shot down whenever he ran them through JARVIS.

"I know you can think of something, Tony." She whispered. Tony's eyes longed for hers, and as he looked down to gaze at her beautiful ocean blue eyes, he found every ounce of courage – every single ounce of motivation he could've hoped for. Her hands found his, and gently grasped them. She lifted them up in front of her face and gently kissed his knuckles.

"I love you, Pepper." He endearingly smiled at this sight. As he lay his eyes on the one person that could easily dissolve any problem he had, he wondered – was this the feeling of true happiness?

"I love you too, Tony." She whispered back, leaning towards him for a single kiss.

* * *

"It'll work?" Tony's eyes were wide as he looked up at the ceiling of his workshop.

A pause of silence was given. "It's a plausible idea, but there are many repercussions." JARVIS told him.

"I know." Tony nodded to himself with a small frown. "But, the pros weigh out the cons."

"Agreed." His AI responded rather quickly.

"It's better than an empty shot at defeating him." Tony half smiled.

"Shall I make the necessary preparations for this weapon, Sir?"

Just as JARVIS asked him about the preparations, Tony heard something behind him click open. He turned his head just enough to get a glance at the figure that walked through the glass door. Romanoff walked through the glass door with her heels clicking against the concrete of his workshop. It wasn't as familiar as Pepper's, but it was a familiar distraction.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure, Agent Romanoff?" He flashes a fake smile.

Natalie wore a white blouse and a black medium length skirt. Her hair was in curls, as always. Covering her chest was a manila folder that, what looked like from Tony's prospective, contained more than ten pages of god knows what. She walked through his workshop with a purpose, and her facial expression showed no implications of happiness.

"Director Fury asked me to give you this." She simply said, handing him the manila folder.

Tony eyed her suspiciously and then at the manila folder. It had his name next to a pair of parenthesis surrounding "Iron Man". He breathed a laugh at this and continued to open the folder. He skimmed the first page and then the second. In Agent Romanoff's eyes, it looked like he wasn't amused at all.

"What is this?" Tony asked in a solemn tone as he skimmed the third page.

"Your termination contract." She simply stated, with a slight tilt of her head.

"That's not good." He quickly stated, looking back up at her.

She took in a deep breath before speaking again. When she looked at him, it was direct and serious, as if she were just a messenger. "Director Fury wants you to sign this contract—"

"—I knew you guys hated me." He tried to cut her off with a quick laugh.

"—_THAT_ states, and I quote, 'if said human being with an unattainable grip on certain aspects of science, whose methods is unbeknownst to the general society, cannot perform his, or her, duty, then said person will be terminated as an act of precaution'." She pressed her lips together.

When Tony looked up at her with his dark brown eyes of pure shock, he saw a glimmer of sorrow in her pupils. He looked away from her, stunned and befuddled. He didn't know what to say. His mind drew a long blank as he looked in the distance of his workshop; his suits, his creations, and his atmosphere. His eyes fell upon a picture of Pepper and him that stood upright, in all its glory, on his desk.

"What about Pepper?" He asked flatly, as his eyes fell upon the messenger in front of him.

"She will be taken care of." Natalie responded, almost as if on cue.

In a mighty wave, anger quickly took over his emotions. "This is bullshit." He angrily closed the manila folder. "How can Fury do this to me?"

"Directory Fury has no choice—"

"No – Fury always has a god damn choice in the matter. It's how he handles things that pisses me off!" He angrily spat at her.

"—He's trying his best to keep order in society." She calmly told him while glaring straight at him.

Tony's fists immediately turned into balls; his knuckles soon turned white. "He's trying to control _everybody_! He's already controlled you!"

"Director Fury is doing what he can. You don't like it, and neither does he, but who else will take his place and do what is right for _all_ of us." Natalie quickly told him with a stern look.

Tony looked down at the manila folder and then at her. Anger boiled throughout his body, and his control over his emotions was about to burst. He pressed his lips together and was about to shout again at her, but she beat him to the punch.

"The fine print on the last page gives you an ultimatum." She told him calmly, almost as if she were going against orders. "If you can properly control the situation regarding Khris Jorg, then all acts of termination will be—"

"—terminated." He finished her sentence with a flat expression. "So, if I fail tomorrow, that's it. It's all over."

"Indeed." She nodded with a concerned look.

"Do _you_ believe that I can do this?" He asked her nonchalantly, as if looking for some sort of motivation, or at least a start of motivation.

"_We_ all believe you can do this." She responded before a small smile appeared on her face. "We're counting on you."

"Thanks." He nodded before he felt an uncomfortable feeling washed over him. He had never been in a serious and friendly conversation with her. It was more odd than unbelievable. He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Are you always secretly nice to people?"

Her small smile abruptly turned into a flat line. "You're an ass." She quickly spat at him whilst grabbing the manila folder that was in his hand. She immediately walked towards the glass door that led to the stairs.

When she opened the door, Pepper quickly stepped to the side to avoid bumping into her. Pepper furrowed her eyebrows at the speed at which Natalie left, and then looked over at Tony as he passed the threshold.

"What was that about?" She asked; her eyebrows were still furrowed.

"Nothing." He said with a small smile, and quickly took in Pepper's presence. She wore a pair of shorts and a blouse, completed with a pair of high heels that were particularly fascinating to Tony's interests. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering how things were down here." She simply responded with a slight smile. "I barely saw you yesterday."

"Sorry." He politely apologized and proceeded to rest his hands on her waist. "To my defense, I was highly engrossed in something that _I_ think will knock this guy out of the park."

"Really?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

He took her reaction in and immediately frowned. "What, didn't think I could do it?"

She knew he was joking but instead crooked the side of her mouth and playfully hit his arm. "You know I knew you could do it, Tony."

He noticed her expression of annoyance and quickly pecked at her neck. He smiled endearingly against her face and buried his head in the crook of her neck whilst embracing her. "I love you, Pepper."

Pepper hugged him back and rested her head against his shoulder. A wide smile spread across her face as the following words escaped her lips, "I love you too, Tony."


	31. Chapter 31

Tony walked out of the shower with steam rolling around him. His eyes were glossy and his solemn expression showed his mood. He was tired, but with good reason. After a long day of testing out his newest weapon (and effectively scaring the crap out of his Personal Assistant) and coming up with combat tactics, his body became spent and his mind drained. He grabbed a towel off a nearby rack and began to dry himself off. He rubbed the towel around his head and then wrapped it around his waist. He slowly made his way towards the mirror and began to stare at himself through his own brown eyes. He noticed the bags under his eyes and the tiresome look he's giving himself. He sighed deeply and ruffled his hair a bit with his hand.

Every superhero gets tired. There is no cure to being human. Sleep is what repairs the mind – it keeps the body going. Tony Stark loved and loathed sleeping. He loved sleeping next to his girlfriend, and watching her mindlessly cuddle up to his chest in the middle of the night. He hated sleeping when he was working through important research or calculations; the thought of hours wasted on repairing his mind or recharging his 'batteries' seemed unpleasant at particular times.

Tony walked out of his bathroom with his hand scratching the back of his head. When he looked up, he saw Pepper sitting on his bed; her legs were under the sheets and arched up. Tony eyed her white tank top, and then the hem of her red short shorts. She was constantly typing on her phone with her thumbs that she practically forgot that he was in the bathroom.

Tony's face flashed a wide smile; he immediately remembered why he loved sleeping, especially next to his Pepper. He slipped on a pair of boxers that he yanked off the dresser, threw the towel next to the hamper and slid into bed next to her.

Pepper, still typing on her phone, was instantly greeted with small kiss on her shoulder, followed by an arm slipping around her middle. She widened her grin as another kiss graced her shoulder.

"Yes?" She answered his actions with an arched eyebrow.

"Hm." He hummed against her skin before casually glancing up at her. She immediately went back to her work. Tony then gave her an upsetting frown. "I'm kissing you, and you don't even take your eyes off that infuriating phone of yours?"

"I've been trying to conjure up excuses for you all day." She tried to tell him as his grip around her middle loosened. His cheek rested against her shoulder as he skimmed the contents of her phone's screen. She glanced at his sudden closeness and smirked. "Like what you see?"

Tony first glanced down her tank top, at her phone, and then up at her. "You have no idea." A wide grin was plastered across his face. "I should make a law where phones are prohibited in the bed of Tony Stark."

Pepper rolled her eyes at his statement and began to shut off her phone. "Fine." She smiled to herself and placed her phone on the nightstand next to her. She effectively slipped under the sheets and wrapped her arm around Tony's waist. She endearingly nuzzled against his shoulder while he rested his cheek against her head.

"Besides, after tomorrow, all those excuses might have been a waste." He told her, trying to lighten the mood.

She solemnly looked down at the hem of his boxers and traced circles on his stomach. "Don't say that." She mumbled, just enough for him to hear.

"Pepper—"

"I'm not ready to lose you…" She mumbled again. "…not again."

Tony looked down at her and let out a small sigh. He first thought of his three month sabbatical in Afghanistan and then thought of the upcoming battle. He didn't know how it was going to go, to be honest. It could go either way because of any unknowns on Khris' part. His newest weapon was far superior to anything he has ever made (so far).

"Hey…" He whispered against her strawberry blonde hair. "You're not the only one that doesn't want tomorrow to happen."

"When do you have leave?" She glanced up at him. Her eyes drifted to his lips and then his eyes – those gorgeous, deep brown eyes.

"I should start prepping at noon, and then give Fury a few calls to set everything up." He responded before letting out a sigh. "I was hoping we could do something before then."

"You make it sound like you're saying good-bye." She sniffed; her fingers stopped tracing figures on his stomach. Tony wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. Her petite hand rested calmly against his middle and her other arm rested between their bodies.

He laid there with his girlfriend in his arms and pressed his lips together. "I don't know what you want me to tell you, Pepper."

She heavily sighed against his side. "Remember when I told you to never lie to me again?"

"Immensely, yes."

"Lie to me." She simply said. Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Do you think you'll make it out alive tomorrow?"

He swallowed; He had hopes of making it through tomorrow but, soon that hope turned into a wish. He couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Pepper, Rhodey, or Happy—and maybe JARVIS—ever again. "Yes."

Pepper frowned against his side and stayed silent. He did what she asked him to do. There was no reason to cry, because there was no way around this. She had no intentions of pleading him to not go out there. She knew how he worked out his problems. Sure, he was an ass sometimes, but his pride, dignity, and duty as a superhero was important to him.

* * *

It was already the next day. Tony had woken up before Pepper, surprisingly, and went down to his workshop to observe his new weapon. He had more faith in it than any other weapon he had ever built. About an hour later, JARVIS notified him about Pepper's awakening.

When he walked upstairs to his bedroom, Pepper was sitting up, against the headboard, with her hands in her lap. Worried that she might've gotten sick or something, he approached her with haste.

"Pepper?" He asked, worriedly.

When she looked up at him, he saw tears running down her cheeks. They were definitely _not_ tears of joy.

"Pepper…" he breathed her name, again.

"I don't know." She shook her head.

He looked at her in sorrow. He hated seeing her cry. He had seen horrible things throughout his life, but one of the worst things on his list was seeing Pepper cry. He'd always seen her happy, frustrated, angry, and annoyed – seeing her cry always sent a spear straight through his RT.

He took her hand and gently led her off the bed. "C'mon, I know what'll turn that frown upside down."

"Please tell me you're not going to give JARVIS a feminine voice and make him tell jokes." She pleaded, wiping her tears with her free hand.

"You didn't find that hilarious?" He frowned and turned his head to look at her.

"Only you found that funny."

"But you were smiling." He pointed out.

"That's because JARVIS started giving you an attitude. It sounded a lot similar to a certain someone I know, but much more gentle." She teased him.

"Did you just call me a woman?" He heard Pepper breathe a laugh. "I'm going to cook you breakfast, and you're going to watch."

"Do I get to hold the fire extinguisher this time?" She joked and followed him down the stairs.

"Funny." He said dryly. "I'm only cooking eggs, hash browns, and bacon."

"That's what you said when you tried microwaving a marshmallow, which wasn't cooking at all." She reminded him.

"Microwaving _is_ cooking." He tried to point out.

"No, microwaving is microwaving." She shot back.

"Fine." He groaned. "You can hold the fire extinguisher."

"_And_ the blow torch?" She raised an eyebrow. Once they entered the kitchen, Tony turned around to face her.

"I was making crème brulee." He beamed at her. "And it was for your birthday."

She laughed at him and squeezed his hand. "One, you managed to torch everything _but_ the crème brulee, and two, it wasn't my birthday."

"But admit it, that was some pretty good crème brulee." He grinned wildly.

"It was adequate." She said thoughtfully.

"You know, I can't be a superhero boyfriend and a chef at the same time." He pouted.

Pepper let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, shrinking the space between them. He wrapped his arms around her waist out of pure habit. The thought of what might be their last day together flew out the window in a flash. She looked down at his lips and grinned childishly.

"I enjoy the effort, Tony, and despite how cute you look when you start to panic, I think you'll have to give me this one."

"But…" He pouted. "You always cook breakfast for me."

"Not always. You did make me a burnt omelet that one time." She raised her eyebrows in thought.

"That's because I was dying, and even _I_ didn't want to eat it." He smirked at her.

"How about we both cook breakfast?" She beamed at him.

"Mm," He hummed with a huge grin. "Sounds like that's euphemism for _something_."

"Only _you_ would think that." She laughed. She felt his hands playing with the hem of her tank top. "Tony, I'm hungry—"

"—So am I." He looked down at her lips with a growl.

"I mean it." She giggled under his grasp. "I'm really hungry and I could go for some bacon and eggs right now." She began to the play with his hair on the back of his neck.

He made a frown and heavily sighed. "Why do you always have to be a tease?"

"_Someone_ has to do the job. If you're not happy with my methods, I'm sure JARVIS can do a much better job." She slyly grinned at him.

Tony pressed his lips together and inwardly groaned. "You're mean."

She laughed at him and unraveled her arms from his neck. Pepper started to reach for the pan that hung over the stove. Tony's hands were still on her waist. When she got down from her tippy toes and placed the pan on the stove, she was greeted with very eager hands.

"We can't resume breakfast in an hour?" He furrowed his eyebrows in curiosity.

Pepper rolled her eyes at him and planted a soft kiss on his lips. She wasn't feeling particularly keen on doing the deed right then and there, so she muttered something against his lips. Tony was about take her hand and lead her to the bedroom, or at least the couch, but someone had popped up in their kitchen.

"Mm," Tony hummed before he pulled away. "Romanoff."

Pepper furrowed her eyebrows and followed his gaze. When she turned around he was met with a very well dressed, and ready for action, SHIELD Agent. "Natalie."

"Miss Potts." Natalie greeted her, and then looked at Tony. "We need to talk."

"I told Fury I would call him at noon. I still have about three hours under my belt for actions concerning everything _under my belt_." He pressed his lips together in annoyance. Pepper immediately got his innuendo and lightly slapped his arm.

She gracefully slipped out of his grasp. "Why don't you two talk somewhere privately while I cook breakfast? Did you want anything to eat, Natasha?"

"I won't be staying long." Natalie quickly responded. Her gaze was now directed at Tony; her eyes were basically threatening him at this point.

"But we were—" He started to pout at Pepper, but she didn't look at him. Tony heavily sighed and began to angrily glare at the SHIELD Agent in their kitchen. He pointed at her. "Downstairs."

* * *

Khris Jorg stood on top of an old abandoned building in the middle of Cheyenne, Wyoming. He looked over the empty city with a small smile. It was the perfect arena for his match up with Iron Man. He had always hoped for something like this. Ever since his early years, he had been a very tough competitor in all activities. After Ivan Vanko approached him, everything changed.

"_I don't know what you want, but I think you have the wrong person." Khris said, walking away from Vanko in a dark alley. Khris had two things on his mind, work and food. He worked at a warehouse at the edge of town in Nevada. He had worked at a robotics factory for three years. The pay wasn't high, but it was enough._

"_You work at a robotic arms factory, and for what, for money?" Vanko suspiciously grinned at him._

_Khris stopped in his tracks and turned his head to get a glance at him. "You don't know anything about me."_

"_I know about your history." Vanko started to walk towards him. "At age ten, you sent a kid to the hospital because he wouldn't back down at the final round in a karate tournament. At age fifteen, you invented a robotic arm that could attract and detract metal objects with pressure plates."_

"_So, you know my childhood. What does that prove?" Khris turned around to face Vanko. "Nothing."_

"_I know how much of a competitor you are." Vanko grinned, and shifted his toothpick in his mouth. "Tell me, what are your opinions about Tony Stark?"_

"_Tony Stark?" Khris raised an eyebrow at him. "Iron Man? He's an idiot." Vanko smirked and released the toothpick from his mouth. "But, I give props to the man. He has money, women, and a brain. People call him a genius. I call him well-off."_

"_What if I gave you a chance to show Tony Stark what a man with absolutely nothing can do?" Vanko asked him._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_My time is up." Vanko simply told him. "Here." He handed him a roll of paper. Khris cautiously and suspiciously took it out of his hand. He looked down at it as if it were about to explode._

"_What's this?"_

"_Read it."_

_Khris rolled the rubber band off the edges and unraveled the piece of paper. He skimmed the whole entire paper and raised an eyebrow. _

"_Does any of it make sense to you?" Vanko asked him flatly._

"_It's a powerful magnet." Khris told him. _

"_Tony Stark has similar technology."_

"_Iron Man." Khris understood him._

"_With this, you'll be able to compete with Iron Man." Vanko tapped the piece of paper that Khris held in his hands._

_He looked down at the roll and shook his head. "You're wrong. I may be competitive to the bone, but I'm not about to go toe to toe with a superhero."_

"_He's not a superhero. He's a man, a man that stole everything from me – everything from my family."_

_Khris pressed his lips together and nearly crumbled the roll of paper. He looked up at Vanko, "What do I get out of this?"_

"_Satisfaction."_

"_Satisfaction of a good ole' competition? I'm not your dog."_

"_But I can teach you more than robotics. I can teach you everything. Knowledge is power."_

"_Knowledge is from reading books, and making mistakes. I don't need to kill Iron Man to prove myself." Khris practically spat at him._

"_Your legacy is tiny. What would your father say?"_

"_My father is proud of me. I don't need to be famous to make a name for myself." Khris responded rather calmly. _

"_Fine." Vanko simply said. "No one will know who you are. No one will care. Tough way to live life." He walked past Khris with his hands in his pockets._

"_Wait." Khris muttered, just enough for Vanko to hear._

Khris crossed his arms over his chest. He still didn't understand why he took up that offer from Vanko. He was his mentor, his teacher, and somehow, his friend. He wanted to prove himself to Vanko and his father that he wasn't all bark and no bite. He wanted to prove to the world that he could compete with even the toughest competitors. Vanko was right; a competitor without a name wasn't a competitor at all. A name is an identity. To compete with Iron Man gave him the motivation to pursue his dreams as someone with a purpose. For most of his adult life, he hadn't figured out what kept him from working at that robotics factory. He thought it was pure amusement.

"What am I doing?" He whispered to himself.

"Sir!" One of his men shouted from the sidewalk. Khris glanced down at him and immediately activated his thrusters. He landed in front of him with a clang.

"What is it?" He asked flatly.

"Iron Man has been spotted at the southwest border checkpoint."

"Tell everyone to clear out. I don't want anyone getting hurt." He ordered, walking towards one of the nearby buildings.

"You don't need back up?" He asked him. Khris gave him a nasty look. "I mean… you know… if he wins…"

"I've been called many nasty things, but I'm not a cheater. And I don't aim to be one, either." He notified him.

"But you're going up against Iron Man. If you're not in it for the victory, then what do you hope to achieve from this fight?" The man stopped in his tracks while Khris kept on walking.

"A name." Khris responded without looking behind him. "Tell everyone to clear the area. Call code yellow-alpha-twenty-three."

"Y-Yes, sir." The man nodded and ran in the opposite direction. It didn't make any sense to him. A name meant nothing more to him than an identity; a gift from parents. He pulled out his walkie-talkie, "Code yellow-alpha-twenty-three."

* * *

Tony's thrusters took him through the boarder line of Wyoming. He knew when he passed the line; when he zoomed over, JARVIS picked up at least ten hostiles near the boarder, each of them with an assault rifle. He looked at the sensors that appeared on his HUD.

"Sir—"

"I know." Tony responded casually. "Agent Romanoff, there are ten hostiles at the boarder. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Khris already knows the guest of honor has arrived."

The SHIELD agent appeared on his HUD. "Noted."

"Also, keep Bart Simpson on a leash. I don't want a rain of arrows zipping past me." He smirked, referring to Agent Barton aka Hawkeye.

"Mr. Stark, you're abundantly calm for a man that's about to step into a battle with someone that effectively handed your ass to you last time." She glared at him through the camera on her end.

He began to pout. "You were the one that said you believed in me."

"And I can take it back anytime I want."

He frowned, almost feeling appalled.

"Sir," JARVIS' voice boomed throughout his helmet. "We are a minute away from entering a field of electricity that will cut off all communications."

"Keep an eye on the battle field." He told the SHIELD Agent.

"Don't screw up." She simply responded back with a serious expression before hanging up.

Tony pressed his lips together and began to sigh. There were things he never thought he could do, and then there were things he had to do no matter what. What everything had in common was the fact that he wanted to make a better place for the people he cared about. He didn't want anyone to get into harms way, especially not Pepper. No matter what he had to do, he wanted to do it for her. He's supposed to think of the well-being of all of humanity and the interests of the United States, but whenever he thought about the humanity, a mental image of Pepper would always pop up.

"JARVIS, start converting all commands to my voice." He simply said.

"Already in effect and ready." Replied the AI.

Within a matter of ten seconds, he felt the missing link between him and his Artificial Intelligence – his partner in crime. It felt weird, not hearing his voice. Right next to Pepper, JARVIS was about the only other person that he could talk to that would calm him down, despite the numerous times he's muted him.

"Okay, Khris. Let's see what you're made of." He mumbled to himself, whilst zipping through numerous buildings that have been evacuated. His heads-up-display zoomed in, and showed him a visual of Khris' body.

Khris stood there with his arms crossed against his metal skeleton cased chest. He didn't look the least bit scared. Instead of a disappointing or engaging frown, he wore a slight smile. Tony angrily looked at the visual in disgust. His smile screamed sick and twisted all over the place.

Tony took a good look at his surroundings for a minute. He noticed the old abandoned buildings, and some perfectly open spaces. He had a plan up his sleeve, and he sure didn't want it to back fire on him because of a few environmental technicalities. He landed a few meters away from Khris his knee and fist on the ground. He looked up at his opponent slowly before getting up and straightening himself out.

"You made it." Khris still had a sly smile on. "And here I thought you were going to back out."

"You're pretty spry for a guy that went from Robotics and Karate to electrical engineering and stolen blueprints." Tony angrily looked at him, despite Khris' ability to actually see his face.

He began to breathe a laugh. "So, you know all about me?"

_Agent Romanoff's remote camera blinked on Tony's monitor. He was hard at work, trying to finish the weapon's specs that he had put his life on. He finished drawing out the plans and working out some calculations before answering her call. Once her face popped up on his monitor, he went back to work._

"_And to what do I owe the pleasure, Natalie?" He said without looking at her._

"_Director Fury dug up all he could about Khris Jorg." She informed him without commenting about his name for her._

"_Anything surprising or worth spewing at him for shits and giggles?" He traced some lines on his desk and slid it across his desk. The same lines popped up on a nearby 3D holographic table. "Because we all know how much I want to piss him off."_

"_You'd be surprised. He has a clean record." Natalie informed him._

_He furrowed his eyebrows at her through his monitor. "How clean is clean?"_

"_Windex, clean." She responded, glancing at him. "Khris entered many karate tournaments as a kid. He was into robotics in his High School days. Was moderately popular, and attracted all the girls. Went to prom… Oh, here's something you'll find interesting."_

"_What's more interesting than a kid that follows the rules?" Tony sarcastically added._

"_His father was a well known guy. Alexander Jorg." She looked up at Tony and noticed his lack of interesting. "Alexander Jorg was on the side lines ,but helped your father create the atomic bomb." This effectively got Tony's attention. _

"_So, his father lends a hand…" He shrugged it off._

"_Alexander also helped other well known scientists. He helped create the logic and programming for defusing bombs, he created algorithms that helped track missiles, he also created a sticky-bubble-like explosive—"_

"_Okay, I get it." Tony huffed. "He was a real helper. How does this exactly help me?"_

"_It doesn't." Natalie responded. He pressed his lips together and flatly looked at her. _

"I don't know much." Tony said through the suit with a small frown. "Your father had a real name. The only reason why you entered in so many competitions when you were growing up was because you wanted your father to be proud of you."

"We're similar, Stark." Khris started to grin. "Both of us tried _so hard_ to get our father's attention. All of that effort was wasted."

"My father loved me in his own way." Tony gritted his teeth.

"As did mine."

"Then tell me, why are you doing this? What will you prove to the world—to anyone—by killing me?" Tony asked with slight anger in his voice.

"A name." Khris simply responded, quipped with a small smile. "Call me anything you like—crazy, even. A name is everything to me. It was everything to my father," Khris' exoskeleton suit began to power up; the strips of blue illumination that ran through each metallic piece glowed brighter than their last encounter. "And it was everything to my mother."

Tony's HUD began to glow bright read and beep annoyingly with warning. He looked in all directions in his HUD and noticed his power supply slowly lowering. "Huh, so you did make a few modifications." He immediately used his thrusters to fly him back a couple meters.

Khris slyly smiled at him. "Be honest—"

"I'm not really one for honesty." Tony shot back with a smirk. "I mean, have you seen my press conferences?"

Khris felt a surge of power coming from the RT on his chest. "Do you really think you can defeat me?"

"No." Tony stepped back and got ready for any attack he was going to lash at him.

"Then why try to even fight me?" Khris raised an eyebrow at him, curious of his answer.

"Because," Tony started out; images of Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, Fury, and even the rest of the Avengers. "They're all I have left to fight for."

"_Pepper." Tony called from the top of the staircase. Pepper was still putting last minute finishing touches on their breakfast. She looked up to see him staring at her, waiting for her to answer him._

"_Where's Natalie?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I made a little extra bacon and eggs, in case she wanted any."_

"_She left." Tony quickly told her. "Do you think you could come down to the workshop with me—just for a second."_

_Pepper raised an eyebrow at him and suddenly wondered what he wanted. She put the plates of food inside the oven and shrugged. "I guess—What's this about?" She walked towards him nervously. "Please don't tell me you built a suit for me."_

_He grinned at her, storing the thought of Pepper in a suit in the back of his mind. "I need to show you something."_

_Pepper followed Tony willingly and even wondered what he wanted her to see. She hoped it wasn't a big diamond on a ring that said, 'I'm not asking you to marry me; this is just something I wanted to give you before I died'. When he dropped a black thin box in her hand, she disgustingly looked down at it._

_She was a tad speechless and confused when she looked up at him. "Please tell me you're not pregnant and this is some sort of baby monitor."_

_He breathed a laugh and flicked the top of it open. It revealed a red button. Pepper immediately yelped and released it from her grasp. He caught it instantly and furrowed her eyebrows at her._

"_You're acting as if it's a spider."_

"_WHAT is that?" She shrieked, pointing down at it._

"_A button?" He raised an eyebrow at her._

"_To what?" She quickly responded back._

"_To the bombs." He told her, holding it out to her._

"_WHAT!" She shrieked again. "Don't even—get that away from me!"_

"_Pepper, the bombs aren't even armed yet." He tried to place it in her hands, but she refused. "If you'll just listen to what I have to say—"_

"_Do you realize what you're giving me?" She quickly asked him, terrified of the button. _

"_Pepper." He calmly told her. "Khris' father built these remote sticky bubble like bombs. Fury gave me access to the specs and the only way to defeat Khris is with this button."_

"_That doesn't really make sense, Tony." She shook her head. "What you're doing to asking me to kill someone – and I can't do that."_

"_No." He slowly shook his head. "I'm not asking you to kill him. I modified the bombs. They won't kill him."_

"_But the electric field—"_

"_That's what I need to do first." He told her, slowly placing the device in her hand. He closed the cap to it and covered it with his hands. He brushed his thumb against her fingers and smiled down at her. "I trust you, Pepper. It's why I'm not giving this to anyone else."_

"_But Natalie—"_

"_Isn't you." He interjected her with a wide grin. "I trust you more than Rhodey and Happy combined – and I think that's saying something."_

_She looked down at their hands and felt his thumb softly stroke her hand. She looked up at him, almost curious. "How will I know when to use it?"_

Khris kicked up his thrusters and lunged at him. "Arrrgh!" He screamed at him.

Tony widened his eyes and quickly boosted himself up a few meters. Khris stopped at the spot and looked up to see where Tony went, and was greeted with a boot in the face. Khris stumbled backwards and brushed off the blood on his lip.

Tony's thrusters skipped him back. "Shit…" He cursed to himself. "…Eighty-five percent power left. "At least three meters that electric field… That gives me—" A repulsion blast to his arm cut him off. He stumbled backwards and turned his head back at Khris to get a good look at his position, but another repulsion ray hit his head.

"Damn it…" Tony cursed again. He booted up his thrusters and shot up into the sky. He hovered in the air for a few moments and got a good view of his surroundings. He looked in the southwest direction and took a moment to calculate a few measurements. Red warnings went off in his suit, causing him to look down at his opponent.

"Giving up already?" Khris yelled up at him, and shot his arms up. Thick coils ran out from the forearms of his exoskeleton suit and zipped up towards the ankles of Iron Man. Khris sent jolts of electricity across the coils and pulled down, dragging Tony down in the process.

Tony quickly shot the coils with his repulsion rays, making Khris grin with excitement. "Thanks for the power."

Tony angrily gritted his teeth together and activated his left arm's laser. He effectively sliced through the coils and flew back up. He looked down at his seemingly untouchable opponent, "Vanko had better weapons than you." He flew towards the southwest boarder.

His taunt didn't go unnoticed. Khris bolted after him with twice the power in his thrusters. Tony looked at his HUD's sensors and saw that Khris was gaining on him. He looked back and saw that sly smile on Khris' face. Before Tony could get a good look at the measurement from the border to his position, a repulsion ray hit his back. Tony tumbled downwards for a few seconds before recovering.

"Shit—" Tony looked at his position whilst trying to avoid Khris' repulsion rays. "That's too far."

"This isn't much of a fight, Stark!" Khris yelled at him before firing a few more repulsion rays.

"_I'll shoot some flares up." Tony rested his hands on Pepper's shoulder and grinned down at her. "It'll be like Christmas. It'll be fun."_

_She tried not to smile, but his were always contagious. "It's not fun if the person you love is going into battle, and his only hope of survival is a button."_

"_You've been in tougher spots before." He made a point with her and brushed his thumbs against her shoulders in efforts of comforting her. "You'll do fine."_

"_Tony." She breathed, trying not to smile up at him. He saw a flash of worry in her eyes. Of course she was worried. It was a button that controlled some sort of bomb that he had built. He hadn't even told her what it did, so the list of consequences quickly piled up in her mind. "What if this thing doesn't work?"_

"_It'll work." He quickly told her, trying to calm her down._

"_But what if it doesn't?" She looked down at the bright red button that was staring right back at her. "I don't even know what this button does? If it doesn't go ka-boom, then what exactly does it do?"_

"_You're asking way too many questions, Pep."_

"_I only asked three." She rolled her eyes at him._

"_Stop panicking." He told her. "It's easy. See flares? If yes, press button, if no, then don't press button."_

"_Tony, you're not—" She stopped short and thought about her next words. The only thing that she could do to get him to understand where she was coming from was with an analogy. "—What if I told you I was pregnant?"_

_This made Tony's eyes go wide… very wide. _

_She kept on going, despite his bug eyed facial expression. "It's an important decision for you to either keep it or not. It's life changing – it's not something you're used to hearing… it's—"_

"_Are you?" He gasped, looking down at her with his still-wide eyes._

"_Am I what?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him._

"_Are you…" He took a second to swallow. "…pregnant?"_

"_No, I'm not." She quietly told him. "We only had sex once and I'm on the pill—"_

"_I'd keep it." He quickly answered her question. "Without even thinking, because you're… you." He slowly beamed at her. "Sure, I'm the last person in the world that would even consider conceiving a child due to my previous adventures, but you're… you're just… you."_

"_That was cute… and heartfelt, despite the lack of sense it made." She grinned up at him. "But do you get what you're asking me to do?" She gestured towards the device in her hands._

_He began to nod. "Yes." He honestly couldn't stop thinking about a little Stark running around the house and drawing on the walls with crayons. "I trust you with my heart, Pepper. Literally, actually." They both began to laugh. "Please." He covered the device in her hand with his palm. "Do this for me. I've got no one else."_

Tony felt a repulsion ray hit the base of his thrusters. After he recovered again, he converted 70% of his power into the thrusters. He sped through the sky in hopes that he got to a green zone. "Just ten more miles…" He mumbled to himself.

"If you won't attack me…" Khris took some of the energy he absorbed from the energy cube and used it to boost him to Iron Man's position. "…Then I will!" In a split second, he used the energy he was absorbing and converted it to the strength increase in his arms. He threw a hard smack at Tony's back.

Tony grunted in pain and felt the pressure from the hit screw up his flight path. His thrusters stopped as his body tumbled down towards the ground. Thankfully, he recovered before hitting the ground. His feet slid across the gravel on an abandoned street before activating his thrusters again. He threw himself forward and kept on flying. "Two more miles…" He grounded out.

"_So, all I need to see is flares…" Pepper asked him in verification._

_Tony nodded with a small smile; his back was turned to her as he was focusing on his newest weapon, which was encased in a secure glass box. "Yup, but there are a few things I need to do before I can send you the signal."_

"_Such as?" She furrowed her eyebrows at him, and walked to stand next to him. They were both gazing down at the bubble like bombs._

"_These puppies will only work at a certain distance." He told her._

"_Tony—" Her voice was filled with panic._

"_Don't worry." He turned his head to face her; a small smile graced his lips. "I have a plan."_

"C'mon, Stark!" Khris landed on the gravel in attempts to pursue Tony. "You can't run forever!"

Tony turned his head to look at Khris' form and gritted his teeth again. He's right; he won't be able to run forever, but he just needs that distance to finally put his plan into action.

Khris raced after him yet again and began to shoot repulsion blasts at him.

From the boarder, all of the men Khris had sent to keep an eye on the boarder line had been knocked out. SHIELD agents were scouting the area and taking the men into custody. Agent Romanoff stood on top of a convoy with a pair of binoculars.

"See anything?" Agent Barton appeared behind her with his bow around his chest, and his quiver resting against his back.

"Stark is trying to close the gap." She told him quickly before lowering the binoculars. "When he does, I don't know how he's going to get that cube off of Khris' suit."

"What do you mean? Sounds like an easy grab-and-pull type of situation." Clint began to furrow his eyebrows.

"Once Stark enters the critical point of that electric absorption shield, the rate at which his power will be sucked up…" She stopped short, trying not to be the bearer of bad news.

"So, in other words, he's got one shot at getting that thing off him."

When Tony finally reached the green zone his HUD had set up, he cut his thrusters and landed on a baseball field where it was nice and open. Khris landed about four meters away from him.

When he stood up from his hunched over form, his lips formed a sly grin.

"Finally stopped running?" Khris raised an eyebrow at him.

"I just didn't want to ruin all those nice buildings." Tony casually told him.

"I'm going to enjoy beating your face into the ground." Khris angrily grounded out.

"Just play ball." Tony spat back at him.

Khris threw a few powerful repulsion blasts at him with ease. Tony shielded his face with his forearms until one of the blasts hit his stomach. He grunted in pain and felt his legs slide across the dirt. The suit already looked like it got mangled and beat up, and that was just from his repulsion blasts from their one-way flight chase.

"This is going to be difficult." Tony murmured to himself, and notice the suit's power level; 79%.

"C'mon, Stark!" Khris yelled. "Fight back!" He threw three more repulsion blasts at him.

Tony gritted his teeth together and used his thrusters to throw himself forward. He lunged at him, trying to ignore the pain Khris' repulsion blasts were giving him. Within a second, the power level of Tony's suit was decreasing rapidly.

Khris widened his eyes as Tony entered his electric force field. Alarms were going off and red had spread throughout Tony's HUD while the distance between he and Khris was reduced to a single meter.

_What the hell?_ Khris thought to himself as Tony's arm lunged at him. He had thought that his electric field would keep Iron Man away from him. He had thought it was his own advantage; he had never thought that Tony would get so close.

Tony's arm wrapped around his side and quickly grabbed for the cube that was inserted into a slot on his back. He wrapped his fingers around the cube, and some of Khris' suit, and pulled the device out. Before Khris could properly react, the cube was already out.

Khris eventually snapped out of it, and angrily grabbed Tony's head plate. He crushed it ever so slightly before throwing him off of himself. That's when he noticed what Tony was holding in his hand. His eyes widened as he saw sparking wires and bits of the back of his suit, and Project Kin, in Tony's own hand.

Tony glanced at the remaining power his suit had; it had been reduced to 6%. "Shit…" He cursed to himself.

"If I'm not mistaken," Khris started out. "You're probably almost out of power." He slyly smirked at him. "My RT is still at full power, thanks to Project Kin."

"Unfortunately for you," Tony crushed the cube in his hand. "I have a secret weapon up my sleeve."

"Please." Khris huffed. "You're nothing without power. Admit it," He held up both of his repulsors. "I win."

Tony held up one of his arms to the sky and let a flare out.

Khris looked up in shock, thinking it was some sort of weapon, but all he saw was a flare. He looked back down at Tony, recovering from the short duration of panic. "That's it? A flare is your secret weapon?" Khris warmed up his repulsors and angrily shook his head. "Enough—"

Agent Romanoff looked up from her binoculars and turned her head to look over at Pepper. Pepper looked up at her and watched her nod. Pepper bit her bottom lip and looked down at the button.

Khris was about to throw a few powerful repulsion blasts at Tony, until his suit suddenly shut down. Khris' eyes widened as his suit was no longer glowing light blue. He looked down at the Arc Reactor and saw it's grey state; the state of nothingness. "What the—"

"Before you pushed me off, I shot something at your RT." Tony interjected him. "Your father built these sticky bubble like bombs. I merely modified them. The only thing that I was concerned about was your cube. If I had put the trigger in my suit, your stupid cube could've screwed up the transmitting signals, so I gave the trigger to the only person I trust."

"What the hell did you do to me!" Khris angrily spat him.

"When the sticky bomb explodes, the goop I had put in it spreads like wild fire. It immediately cuts off all transitions of power coming from the Arc Reactor. Leaving you useless." Tony began to walk towards him.

Just then, three SHIELD issued convoys stopped right in front of them. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton both got out one of the vehicles, as well as a few SHIELD agents. They all pointed their guns at Khris, while Agent Barton aimed an arrow at him.

Khris angrily looked at the armed people surrounding him, and immediately, but slowly, held up his hands in defeat.

* * *

"Nice work, Stark." Agent Romanoff stood right next to him and watched as the rest of the agents led Khris into one of the covoys. The Arc Reactor was taken out of Khris' suit and placed in a small briefcase. "Director Fury is worried about the Arc Reactor."

"He isn't the only one." Tony pressed his lips together. His helmet was under his arm and in his hand. The suit was still running on reserved power, but he knew it wasn't enough to fly home. "I may need to hitch a ride with you guys. I'm low on fuel."

"I'll see what I can do." Romanoff walked away from him and towards one of the leading convoys.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pepper walk up beside him. He turned his head to face her and beamed. "Nice job, Peps. You really knocked him out of the park."

"Oh, please." She looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

"Felt like a homerun to me." He smirked, looking up at the setting sun.

"See." She murmured, making him turn his head to face her, again. "I knew you could do it."

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "You practically said good-bye to me this morning."

"I did not." She huffed.

"That breakfast you made practically screamed, 'Good-bye you handsome, energetic, cute, adorable, lovely—'" He was cut short.

"Oh, don't get so full of yourself. And it was either a proper breakfast or lighting the house on fire." She pressed her lips together and looked up at him.

"You said you'd hold the fire extinguisher." He remembered. "The house would've been fine."

"Assuming I'm quick enough."

"I'm sure you have cat-like reflex – I mean, taking care of me for ten plus years – you had to have developed ninja like skills." He exaggerated, wrapping his iron clad arm around her shoulder.

She rolled her eyes at him and sighed. "I'm just glad you're okay." Her arm wrapped around the middle of his back.

He winced in pain. "My back is a bit sore from that hit he did on me. Maybe you could give me a full body massage tonight?" He waggled his eyebrows, giving her a dirt image.

She shook her head at him and whacked his stomach, knowing full well that he couldn't feel it, but he laughed at her reaction nonetheless.

* * *

**A/N: All that's left is the Epilogue, and this fanfic is done. :)**

**Thanks to everyone that's been reviewing and supporting this fic, no matter how crazy or weird, or OC, things got! Love you guys!**

**With that said, please review!**


	32. Epilogue

"I'm not going to tell you again." Pepper scolded Tony quietly as she wrapped the red tie around his neck and under the collar of his black dress shirt. He looked down at her with a small smile, silently admiring her small petite hands as they knotted the silk tie. "Stick to the cards."

"This isn't the first time I have." He beamed at her.

She finished knotting his tie and smoothed it out with her hand. Even with the tie there, he could still feel her small hand stroking his chest in the process. "If you _do_ actually stick to the cards, then yes, it'll be the first time."

"What's the point of having the media write reports on lies?" The edge of his mouth went crooked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" She raised and eyebrow at him.

"Please do." He grinned down at her and leaned forwards to give her a light kiss.

That's when Natalie walked in wearing a white blouse and black skirt. Her red auburn hair was let down. Pepper quickly turned her head from Tony's lips in efforts to avoid PDA. Tony stopped at the last minute and pressed his lips together in annoyance. He faked a smile and quickly faced Natalie.

"Ms. Rushman." Pepper grinned.

"Hello, Miss Potts, Mr. Stark. They're ready for you. You have one minute." She informed them before walking away.

Tony's hands immediately flew to her hip once Natalie was out of their sight. She squeaked ever so slightly and was turned around. He pulled her against his chest; their faces were only a couple centimeters apart. "I hate it when people interrupt us."

"Tony." She breathed, grinning up at him. "We shouldn't—"

"Why not?" He asked her with a pout. "No one's in here. It's just us two."

"Someone could walk in—someone other than Rhodey, Happy, or Natalie."

"You mean someone that doesn't know about _us_?" He sighed.

"I love you, Tony." She beamed at him. Her smile thoroughly made his stomach flipping like pancakes. "But, I'm still not ready."

"I understand." He nodded, trying not to close the gap between them. "I _did_ say that it was your decision."

"And my decision is that I'm not ready yet." She told him again, making sure that he heard her.

"I love you too, Pepper." He grinned down at her. "I respect your decision."

Pepper widened her grin at him and planted a soft kiss against his lips. He grinned against her lips and sighed contently. He tightened his hold on her while Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck to intensify the kiss. When they eventually pulled away to catch their breath, Pepper breathed, "Go get them."

"Tease." He breathed back, and gave her another soft kiss.

* * *

Tony walked out onto the stage where only a single podium stood. He walked across the plastic wooden platform and noticed tons and tons of reports from all of the different news stations and channels. They were all sitting down on pull-out chairs, and their hands held microphones, recorders, or a combination of both. Some of them even had camcorders.

Pepper stood next to Natalie in the very back of the room, right behind the last row of chairs. Tony stood in front of the podium and set his note cards down on it. He looked at the vast amount of reports before casting his gaze on his (secret) girlfriend. He grinned at her and immediately got started on his speech.

"I know that most of you, if not all of you, are wondering about Wyoming." He looked up from the podium and saw all of the reports shift in their seats, waiting to ask questions. "At first, it started with Cheyenne, and then it spread. Terrorists had attacked Cheyenne. Iron Man was thus asked to save its citizens. You may think I'm lying, and I'm sure there are bunch of other rumors out there pertaining to the attack, but that's the truth."

He looked up at the rest of the reporters before his gaze ended up on Pepper. She grinned back at him in response to his unintentional stare.

His gaze stayed on her for the rest of his speech. "You know, I'm not much for lying. There's something else that's been bugging me, and unfortunately, it's not on these stupid note cards." He tore them up with his hands and threw them behind his back. He braced his hands against the sides of the podium and saw Pepper's shocked expression.

"Pepper Potts and I are romantically, and sexually, involved."

More than half of the reporters in the back turned and inched towards Pepper with their microphones, asking dozens of questions. Natalie widened her eyes at Tony before turning her attention to Pepper. Peppers eyes were still wide with shock, and even Tony saw the fiery rage beneath all that distress. The rest of the reporters that were closer to the podium rushed forward, barraging Tony with questions.

"Love you, babe!" Tony spoke into the podium one last time, and grinned at her.

Pepper's gapped mouth suddenly turned into a small smile. She shook her head at him and sighed. Deep down, she knew he'd pull a stunt like that. It was just a matter of time until he cracked.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for coming along for the ride! Remember, there is no sequel :)  
**

**Special thanks to those that reviewed along the way. I'm truly sorry for the long gaps between chapters. Time to move on to the next fanfic, whatever it may be!  
**

**With love, Alexa.  
**


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